NORRISTOWN — The Republican National Committee’s request for a “petition for a special and preliminary injunction” against the Montgomery County Board of Elections has been withdrawn, according to a court order issued Monday.
Attorneys were scheduled to appear at 9:30 a.m. Monday before Judge Richard Haaz inside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Norristown, but the hearing was canceled.
Based on a series of stipulations reached between the parties to the suit, plaintiffs Republican National Committee, Montgomery County Republican Committee Chairman Christian Nascimento and Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick withdrew the petition for a special and preliminary injunction, court documents state.
The petitioners filed a civil complaint in court last month, accusing Montgomery County election officials of sending out mail-in ballots prior to wrapping up “logic and accuracy testing,” which is mandated by a Pennsylvania Department of State directive to ensure the functioning of equipment and systems ahead of an election.
RNC sues Montgomery County, alleges mail ballots sent without doing testing
The county Board of Commissioners, Commissioners Tom DiBello, Neil Makhija and Jamila Winder, the county Board of Elections, and Office of Voter Services’ Interim Director Frank Dean were listed as co-defendants. Makhija and Winder, both Democrats, serve as chairman and vice chairwoman of the county’s election board, respectively. DiBello, a Republican, serves as the minority commissioner on both boards.
Court documents revealed both sides reached agreement, resulting in a court order, which details several stipulations that occurred over a 13-day period.
“As part of that ballot acceptance testing on Sept. 10, 2024, the ballots in the test deck were run through all scanners to be used for the canvass of absentee and mail-in ballots for the Nov. 5, 2024 election, with all scanners properly tabulating the test ballots,” the order states.
Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt later certified the general election’s “official list of candidates” on Sept. 16, according to a statement from the Pennsylvania State Department. Absentee and mail-in ballots were made “available for walk-in voters” on Sept. 17 at the county’s voter services office, located on the sixth floor of One Montgomery Plaza, 425 Swede St. in Norristown, per the order.
County officials held a press conference showcasing election-related preparation and security initiatives that same day, announcing that mail-in ballots would be going out to voters in the coming days.
The order also disclosed “the county properly notified the appropriate parties and advertised the commencement of logic and accuracy testing for the scanners to be used in the canvass of mail-in ballots for the general election” to take place at 8 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 23 at the mail-in and absentee ballot canvass room, located at 1430 DeKalb St. in Norristown. The process took about three and a half hours to complete.
“The test deck of the certified ballot was used. The testing was successful with all scanners properly tabulating the test ballots,” the order states.
County officials began sending out absentee and mail-in ballots around 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 23 to “voters who had applied for them up to that point,” according to court documents.
County officials anticipated requests of up to 200,000 mail-in ballots for the election, with 115,000 mail-in ballots as of Sept. 17. There were 608,481 registered voters recorded in Montgomery County as of Monday, according to the Montgomery County Office of Voter services.
Makhija maintained the county followed protocols and previously categorized the legal proceedings as “frivolous” in a Sept. 23 statement.
“The RNC’s frivolous lawsuit is just the latest in a nationwide effort to engage in voter suppression, intimidate election officials, and undermine the democratic process,” Makhija said last month. “Our Voter Services staff has been diligently and effectively working to make our elections accessible for every eligible voter. We will continue that work so that Montgomery County voters have a safe, secure, and accessible election.”
