Allegheny County councilman sues county executive over ballot drop-off sites
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — An Allegheny County councilman is suing the county executive over her plan to create five ballot drop-off sites for next month's primary election.
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato announced her plan last month, and Councilman Sam DeMarco believes her actions violated election laws.
"I believe the county executive needs to follow the law, and the law is clear that the Board of Elections has authority and oversight over ballot return locations," he said.
DeMarco is seeking an emergency injunction to stop Innamorato from opening five new ballot drop-off locations. Innamorato says those fully staffed sites would be in Squirrel Hill, Moon Township, North Park, South Park and Boyce Park.
DeMarco claims she got approval from the state but never met with the Allegheny County Board of Elections.
"My big concern was if she is able to take and do this without pushback, what's to stop what other decisions she might make or unilateral actions she might take either for the primary or for the general election here in November," DeMarco said.
DeMarco says he and other council members felt blindsided and there has been zero communication from Innamorato or her office.
"This isn't about whether you like drop boxes," he said, "or not like drop boxes. This is about someone taking a unilateral action in an arbitrary decision."
Allegheny County Communications Director Abigail Gardner said in a statement, "The county law department is reviewing Mr. DeMarco's lawsuit and we have no comment on it."
DeMarco, a Republican, said his lawsuit against Innamorato, a Democrat, isn't about playing politics.
"I wanted to remove any concern about partisan taint on the elections process. There's a law, we need to follow it," he said.
A judge will hear the case on Monday morning, two days before the next Board of Elections meeting. Innamorato's office says that's when the board will review her plan and vote on it.
