Settlement reached in dispute over Allegheny County ballot drop boxes

Four days after suing Allegheny County’s chief executive for overreaching her authority by announcing mail-in ballot drop-off locations without approval from the county elections board, the plaintiffs on Monday agreed to withdraw their complaint.

County Councilman at-large Sam DeMarco, R-North Fayette, the lead plaintiff, said the decision was made because the county has advertised that the issue will be considered at this week’s Board of Elections meeting — a step he doesn’t think would have occurred without the lawsuit.

“That’s why I believe it was put on the agenda,” DeMarco said.

Attorneys met Monday morning in court to work out the agreement, which was signed just before midday by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge Arnold Klein.

As part of the order, both sides agreed that the issue of ballot return and satellite voting sites are required to be approved by a majority of the three-member elections board during each election.

The board members include DeMarco, county Councilwoman-at-large Bethany Hallam, D-Marshall-Shadeland, and Democratic County Executive Sara Innamorato.

The ballot-box issue is on the agenda for Wednesday’s meeting.

Had it not been, Hallam said, she would have joined DeMarco’s lawsuit even though she’s a proponent of drop boxes and other tools to increase access to voting.

“It’s unfortunate that any of the terms agreed to in this consent decree were ever disputed in the first place,” she said.

“I’m glad that we can move forward with a clear understanding by all parties involved what the Board of Elections’ duties are, and how seriously we, as members of the board, take these responsibilities.”

At the conclusion of the board meeting — no matter the outcome of any vote — the plaintiffs said in the settlement agreement that they would dismiss the lawsuit.

After the judge’s order was signed, DeMarco said voters should be happy with the outcome.

“This is a case of the executive overreaching her authority,” he said. “This, clearly, falls in the purview of the Board of Elections.”

The complaint, filed Thursday, alleged that Innamorato was violating both state election and public meeting laws by unilaterally creating drop-off locations without the board’s input or approval.

It was filed by DeMarco, the chairman of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County, and four other members, David Majernik, Todd McCollum, Robert Howard and Karen Kralik.

After the agreement was reached, DeMarco said he was not necessarily opposed to the drop boxes; he voted in favor of authorizing satellite voting locations in 2020 during the covid-19 pandemic.

He said he will listen to the argument in favor of the drop boxes at Wednesday’s hearing before making any decision. It is important, he continued, to ensure security of the locations and that funding is in place to handle related expenses.

“The voters of Allegheny County should be thrilled the rule of law has been upheld,” he said.

Abigail Gardner, an Innamorato spokeswoman, focused her comments Monday on the impact on voters.

“The important thing is that we are expanding voter access for the first time in four years, which is a measure that voters are really excited about,” Gardner said.

Allegheny County Solicitor Rosalyn Guy-McCorkle said the consent order will “maintain the integrity of the voting process” in the county.