HARRISBURG (AP) – In a 5-2 ruling, Commonwealth Court says spreadsheets of raw data associated with every ballot cast in an election are not subject to public scrutiny. The court ruled on “cast vote records,” which were requested by an election researcher whose work has fueled attacks on voting procedures. The ruling sides with PA Secretary of State Al Schmidt, whose office argued against access to these electronic records from Lycoming County for the 2020 General Election. The court majority says the cast vote records are the “electronic, modern-day equivalent” of all the votes in a traditional ballot box. State law says the contents of ballot boxes are not public records.
