NORRISTOWN — A Montgomery County judge has ruled that the Montgomery County Board of Elections must post schedules for its mobile outreach van, according to an order issued Wednesday.
In the Oct. 30 order, Montgomery County Judge Jeffrey S. Saltz “granted in part” a petition for a special and preliminary injunction.
Lower Providence Township resident Doug Hager was listed as the plaintiff in the civil action initially filed on Tuesday, Oct. 15, according to court dockets. Hager had accused county officials of “not publicly announc[ing] the time and location for the mobile voter services van.”
New lawsuit takes aim at Montgomery County’s mobile outreach ‘voter van’
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The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, Montgomery County Board of Elections, Montgomery County Voter Registration Commission, Montgomery County Office of Voter Services’ Interim Director Frank Dean, and Montgomery County Commissioners Neil Makhija and Jamila Winder were previously listed as co-defendants. Makhija and Winder serve as the county election board’s chairman and vice chairwoman, respectively.
The parties involved went before Satlz on Tuesday, Oct. 29 and the ruling was issued a day later. The order stated the defendants were “preliminarily enjoined from conducting voter registration at the mobile voter services van without first posting reasonable advanced notice to the public of the address of the place where the van will be located and the days and hours when the van will be open for the registration of qualified electors at such location.”
The concept of “reasonable advanced notice” required “written notice” of the van’s scheduled time and place 24 hours in advance posted at the location itself as well as the “main office of the voter registration commission,” per the order. The county’s voter services office is located on the sixth floor of One Montgomery Plaza, 425 Swede St. in downtown Norristown.
“Nothing in this order shall provide a basis for the invalidation of any voter registration or other election-related activity conducted at the van,” the order states.
Montgomery County’s Voter Services Van to visit universities, government buildings ahead of election
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The Montgomery County Mobile Voter Services Satellite Office was formally unveiled in early October at Abington Township’s Fall Festival. It can “provide the same services as a regular satellite office,” per a Montgomery County spokesperson.
Staff members could assist area residents with voter registration, mail-in ballot needs and other services related to the general election. The voter registration deadline previously passed on Oct. 21. Figures from the Montgomery County Office of Voter Services recorded 632,919 people registered to vote in the upcoming general election.
The van traveled to events in Plymouth and Montgomery townships as well as King of Prussia and Pottstown-based senior housing developments throughout October. The voter van has scheduled several visits leading up to Election Day, including from 2-3:30 p.m. on Friday at Collegeville Borough Hall in Collegeville; from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Lower Providence Township Building in Eagleville and Waverly Heights senior residences in Gladwyne, both taking place on Monday, Nov. 4.
“The wheels of democracy shall continue to roll!” Makhija told MediaNews Group in response to the order. “The van is permitted to continue doing the same work we are doing to enfranchise voters.”
RNC withdraws lawsuit against Montgomery County Board of Elections
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The legal proceedings ahead of the 2024 general election followed the withdrawal of another lawsuit brought by the Republican National Committee that accused Montgomery County officials of not sending out mail-in ballots before conducting logic and accuracy testing. Judge Richard P. Haaz ruled on Oct. 17 that the “petitioners have failed to produce any evidence that Montgomery County has violated any federal or state law.”
Visit montgomerycountypa.gov for more information about the county’s mobile outreach van ahead of the 2024 general election.
