A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was sent to the Cambria County Election Department in Pennsylvania regarding pre-election voting machine test reports on October 30, 2024. The request was made by us at Cambria Times, a media organization committed to providing comprehensive and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs.
The records requested under the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law, 65 §66.1 et seq., were for the elections voting machines pre-election test report in PDF format with specific fields. These fields include the test date, machine manufacture, machine model number, and machine status indicating whether it passed or failed.
As a media organization involved in gathering and reporting news to the public, access to public records is essential for us to fulfill our professional responsibilities. These responsibilities include holding public institutions accountable and providing transparency to the public. Given our role in disseminating information, we believe we are eligible for a fee waiver as media professionals.
We continue to wait for a response from the Cambria County Election Department regarding this FOIA request.
