Montgomery County judge partially grants petition in voter van case

NORRISTOWN — A Montgomery County judge ruled that: Montgomery County Board of Elections must release schedules for the mobile aid van, according to an order issued Wednesday.

In an Oct. 30 decision, Montgomery County Judge Jeffrey S. Saltz “granted in part” the petition for special and injunctive relief.

Lower Providence Township resident Doug Hager is listed as the plaintiff. The civil lawsuit was first filed on Tuesday, October 15According to court documents. Hager had accused county officials of “failing to publicly disclose the time and location of the mobile voter services van.”

New lawsuit targets Montgomery County’s mobile outreach ‘voter van’

The Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, the Montgomery County Board of Elections, the Montgomery County Voter Registration Commission, Interim Director of the Montgomery County Office of Voter Services Frank Dean, and Montgomery County Commissioners Neil Makhija and Jamila Winder were previously listed as co-defendants. Makhija and Winder serve as chairman and vice chairman of the county election board, respectively.

The parties involved appeared before Satlz on Tuesday, October 29, and the decision was announced a day later. In the decision, it was stated that the defendants were “preliminarily prohibited from registering voters in the mobile voter services minibus without giving reasonable advance notice to the public about the address of the location where the minibus will be located and the days and hours when the minibus will be available.” Registration of qualified voters is open at this location.”

The concept of “reasonable advance notice” required “written notice” of the scheduled time and location of the minibus posted 24 hours in advance at the venue itself, as well as at the “main office of the voter registration commission,” according to the order. The county’s voter services office is at 425 Swede St. in downtown Norristown. It is located on the sixth floor of One Montgomery Plaza at.

“Nothing in this order shall constitute a basis for invalidating voter registration or other election-related activities conducted in the van,” the decision states.

Montgomery County Voter Services Van to visit universities and government buildings ahead of election

The Montgomery County Mobile Voter Services Satellite Office officially opened at the Abington Township Fall Festival in early October. It can “provide the same services as a regular satellite office,” according to a Montgomery County spokesperson.

Employee; May assist residents with voter registration, mail ballot needs and other general election-related services. The deadline for voter registration passed on October 21. According to figures from the Montgomery County Office of Voter Services, 632,919 people have registered to vote in the upcoming general election.

minibus went to events through October at senior housing projects centered in Plymouth and Montgomery counties, as well as King of Prussia and Pottstown. Voter van to Collegeville Borough Hall in Collegeville on Friday from 2-3:30 p.m.; It will take place at the Lower Providence District Building in Eagleville and the Waverly Heights senior residences in Gladwyne, both on Monday, November 4, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

“The wheels of democracy will continue to turn!” Makhija told MediaNews Group in response to the order. “The van was allowed to continue doing the same work we did to get voters the right to vote.”

RNC drops lawsuit against Montgomery County Board of Elections

The legal process before the 2024 general elections came after the withdrawal of another case filed by the Turkish Grand National Assembly. Republican National Committee He accused Montgomery County officials of failing to send out mail-in ballots before conducting logic and accuracy tests. Judge Richard P. Haaz ruled on Oct. 17 that “petitioners have failed to present any evidence that Montgomery County violated any federal or state law.”

For more information about the county’s mobile outreach tool ahead of the 2024 general election, visit montgomerycountypa.gov.

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