Allegheny County election officials respond to viral video of voters in South Park

ALLEGHENY COUNTY, Pa. — Allegheny County Elections officials released a statement Wednesday responding to a viral video questioning the process at a satellite voting location in South Park.

This is one of several locations across the county where registered voters can obtain and fill out mail-in ballots.

One of the viral posts on X alleges non-American citizens cut the line and were directed through the voting process by a group of translators.

County officials responded to the social media claims, saying a group of registered voters went to the South Park Satellite Election Office on Oct. 26 to apply for mail-in ballots and needed the assistance of translators. There was a brief conversation between the voters, their translators and a County employee.

According to Allegheny County, the employee provided instructions that elderly and disabled people were allowed to sit while they waited for their applications to process, while the able-bodied voters returned to the back of the line. Those who needed the assistance of a translator were able to use their translator to help them through the process.

The deadline to register to vote was Oct. 21. Anyone who requested a mail-in ballot this past weekend only would have been given a ballot if they were already registered, county officials said.

Channel 11 reached out to Keep Our Republic, a non-partisan group run by former Republican Gov. Tom Corbett.

Keep Our Republic is an organization that focuses on the threats facing our elections, and on ways to help strengthen trust in our electoral system.

Their executive director responded to the South Park video saying, “There are strict federal and state laws, many of them in place for more than a quarter century, that make it illegal for noncitizens to vote. The non-partisan professionals who administer elections in Allegheny County cross-check federal and state databases every time someone submits a voter registration application to make sure only U.S. citizens are registered and can vote. This election, similar to others this year around the world, have had many instances of social media and camera phones not necessarily providing the full picture.”

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