Feb 18, 2022 3 min read

Washington County officials met Thursday morning with an Ohio-based physicist who has raised concerns about the 2020 presidential election, although they said after the meeting they need more data from him before investigating his claims.

Douglas Frank, who has written numerous reports questioning the integrity of the election in counties and states across the country, was invited to share his information with the county commissioners and elections director after his work has been cited by residents speaking at public meetings since July.

The 90-minute meeting between Frank and Commissioners Diana Irey Vaughan, Nick Sherman and Larry Maggi went through various issues with the election, but only a few specifics involving Washington County. Irey Vaughan said the discussion mainly revolved around access to statewide voter registration information, issues with voting machines in other states that have modems and graphs claiming to show deviations in expected election results.

Irey Vaughan said once Frank is able to return with specific data involving Washington County and the evidence backing it up, officials will then review the information and begin working to decipher its meaning and whether there were irregularities here.

“Dr. Frank was not able to provide supporting documents for his concerns (during Thursday’s meeting), but he’ll be following up with our director of elections,” Irey Vaughan said.

Elections Director Melanie Ostrander said the accusations of elections irregularities mostly involved other states, but she promised to review any information and data specifically about Washington County when it’s presented. She said once he provides that data, county officials collectively can begin reviewing it, although there is no timeline on when they may receive it.

“He brought up his concerns for our county; however, in order to begin verifying (the information) he would need to share his data with us to investigate his claims,” Ostrander said.

Chief of Staff Michael Namie and Finance Director Joshua Hatfield also attended the meeting, which was not open to the public.

Frank’s work has been cited by many people who believe the election was stolen from former president Donald Trump, including MyPillow founder and CEO Mike Lindell. It has also been used by local residents who have regularly attended commissioners meetings and asked for an audit of the 2020 election. The news of the county officials meeting with Frank appeared to please many people who spoke at Thursday’s voting meeting and thanked the commissioners for listening to his concerns.

Monongahela resident Ashley Duff, who used Frank’s information in an elections integrity report she compiled in July, said during Thursday’s meeting that the past several months were “beyond frustrating,” but she appreciated the commissioners taking the time to address their concerns.

“I personally am grateful for the time that you and Melanie, especially the extra time that Melanie spent in that room with him,” Duff said. “From what I understand, it was a very productive meeting and that we have some steps now that we can move forward with to try to figure some things out. And that is what we’ve wanted from the beginning.”

Frank apparently held a public forum Thursday night at a conference center in Southpointe for him to discuss his findings with area residents.