PA: Dept of State asks Commonwealth Court to dismiss voting lawsuit

[Wilms]

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Tribune-Review

Filing: Dismiss voting machine suit

By David Hunt
TRIBUNE-REVIEW

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

The Pennsylvania Department of State is asking Commonwealth Court to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that Westmoreland County violated the state constitution when the county commissioners authorized the purchase of 750 touch-screen voting machines without giving voters a say.

A 12-page response to the civil action brought by voting-rights activists and state Sen. Jim Ferlo was filed on Monday in Harrisburg, arguing that Westmoreland County was obligated by federal law to switch machines. County Solicitor R. Mark Gesalman said a similar response on behalf of the county will be filed this week.

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The voting activists sued the county earlier this month, alleging that voters had a constitutional right to vote on whether the county should give up the 45-year-old lever machines for an electronic version. Since the suit's initial filing in Common Pleas Court, Secretary of State Pedro Cortes, the state's chief elections officer, was added as a defendant and the case was transferred to Commonwealth Court.

County officials and the State Department say the referendum was not required because elections officials throughout the nation are under federal mandate to replace levered voting machines this year because of the Help America Vote Act, or HAVA. The law was passed in 2002 in response to voting mishaps during the 2000 presidential election.

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http://pittsburghlive.com/x/tribune-review/trib/westmoreland/s_416918.html

[EFerrari]

1. States Rights.

:evilgrin: