DeMarco sues Innamorato over Allegheny County ballot drop-off locations

Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato’s plan to add five locations to drop off mail-in ballots throughout the county is facing a legal challenge — but one that might be short-lived.

County Councilman at-large Sam DeMarco, R-North Fayette, and four other plaintiffs sued Innamorato Thursday in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, claiming that the drop-box locations violate the state’s election and public meetings laws.

Their lawsuit claims that Innamorato cannot unilaterally create drop-off locations but rather must first seek approval from the county’s election board, of which DeMarco is a member.

DeMarco is also the chairman of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County; Innamorato is a Democrat.

DeMarco criticized the plan to create drop-off locations when it was first announced in February. He said Innamorato has not spoken with him about the plan and added that he had “no option but to pursue litigation.”

“Instead of working to set hearings and a vote, the county executive is doubling down on breaking the rules,” DeMarco said in a statement. “The Board of Elections is the proper venue to make this decision. I’m hopeful we can resolve this issue before voting begins.”

Four other members of the Republican Committee of Allegheny County — David Majernik, Todd McCollum, Robert Howard, and Karen Kralik — joined the suit as plaintiffs.

The litigation is being supported by Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections, a group founded by Karl Rove, a senior advisor to former President George W. Bush, that counts Bill Barr, an attorney general during the Trump administration, as a board member.

Innamorato is named as a defendant in her official capacity. The other defendants are the county and its board of elections.

Allegheny County created drop boxes for the 2020 elections, but they were scrapped the following year because of budgetary concerns. Innamorato’s plan is to bring them back for the April 23 primary and possibly for the November general election.

The plan is to add staffed locations where voters can drop off mail-in and absentee ballots in Squirrel Hill, Moon, North Park, South Park and Boyce Park.

Abigail Gardner, an Innamorato spokeswoman, said the county is reviewing DeMarco’s lawsuit.

Gardner noted that the board of elections is meeting next week, and the plan to add satellite drop-box locations will be up for a vote.

In addition to DeMarco, the board members are Innamorato and Allegheny County Councilwoman at-large Bethany Hallam, D-Marshall Shadeland.

DeMarco said Thursday that Innamorato did not tell him that the drop-box location plan would be brought up at next week’s elections board meeting.

“They didn’t understand the rules, and they didn’t take the time to contact me, and now they are backtracking,” he said.

DeMarco said he will drop the lawsuit if the plan is approved by the board, but said he was compelled to bring it up to ensure Innamorato doesn’t try to make any other election changes unilaterally.

He also said it is important that the county follow state law and ensure the public has a chance to comment and review the plan before anything is implemented.

“If I don’t challenge her on this, what is to stop her from making other changes without informing the public and getting approval from the board,” he said.

Hallam, usually an ally of the county executive, initially criticized the rollout of the drop-box location plan for not going through the elections board first, but said she now considers the matter settled because the plan will be reviewed and voted on at the upcoming meeting.

She said she will support the measure to bring back drop-box locations and is hopeful to expand the effort moving forward. Her support and Innamorato’s expected yes vote is enough to enact the plan.

“I am really excited that we finally have a county executive that supports increasing access to voting,” Hallam said.

“If this lawsuit would have came out two or three weeks ago when the plan was announced, then I would have jumped on this lawsuit. But I think it is now moot because we have a board of election meeting coming up and the plan is on the agenda.”