Video claiming "foreigners" cut the line to vote in Allegheny County isn't true, officials say
SOUTH PARK, Pa. (KDKA) — A video making the rounds on social media claims "foreigners" were allowed to cut the line at a remote voting location in Allegheny County's South Park. But county officials said that's not true.
The video has gone viral and has an individual claiming that people who weren't citizens were allowed to vote at a county polling place in South Park, Pennsylvania. The county said that's not correct.
The video was allegedly recorded Saturday, Oct. 26, at the South Park Ice Rink along Corrigan Drive. The video claims individuals described as "foreigners" allegedly cut in front of others standing in line and were given special treatment, but the Allegheny County Elections Division said that didn't happen.
In a statement, county elections says a group of voters who came to apply for mail-in ballots needed the help of translators. There was a brief conversation between the voters, their translators and a county employee.
The group initially moved to the front of the line for instructions. Voters who were elderly or disabled were allowed to sit in a special area while they waited for their applications to be processed. Able-bodied voters returned to the back of the line. And those who needed the help of a translator were able to use their translator to help them through the process.
"The deadline to register to vote was October 21. Therefore, any individual who requested a mail-in ballot this past weekend only would have been given a ballot if they were already registered. Only US Citizens may register to vote," the county said in a statement.
Voter Nancy Graham said she's hoping everyone can just take a breath, and when it comes to videos on the web, "You gotta take it with a grain of salt," she said. "You don't know unless you read it from other sources, maybe. We don't have to be best friends but we do have to be respectful to each other."
KDKA-TV Investigative Producer Tory Wegerski contributed to this report.