A Pennsylvania judge has ruled that three individuals who denied the 2020 election results must pay nearly $1 million in fees due to a legal dispute over voting equipment used during the last presidential race. The judge, appointed as a special master, attached a dollar figure to sanctions against two Republican county commissioners and their attorney for allowing an outside firm to examine voting equipment after the 2020 election despite a court order prohibiting it.
The case began in 2021 and involved actions taken by Fulton County commissioners who sought to have Dominion voting equipment examined by a third-party following the 2020 election. The commissioners, along with their attorney who also served as a pro-Trump fake elector, were sanctioned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court for their actions. They are jointly responsible for paying nearly $1 million in fees to cover the Pennsylvania Secretary of State’s legal bills according to the special master’s report.
The state Supreme Court will utilize the special master recommendations to determine the fees and costs resulting from the case. This marks one of the final chapters of the Fulton County voting equipment dispute, one of several legal battles stemming from the unauthorized access to election systems following the 2020 presidential race. Multiple outside firms were given unauthorized access to voting systems in Fulton County without proper accreditation or authorization from the Board of Elections.
In July 2021, the state secretary’s office argued that the unauthorized inspection compromised the integrity of the equipment by undermining chain of custody requirements and access limitations necessary to prevent tampering. A directive was issued barring county boards of elections from providing access to third parties seeking to examine state-certified voting systems. Legal proceedings ensued, and despite a protective order from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the commissioners allowed another firm to inspect the voting equipment, leading to sanctions.
After the completion of the inspection report, the county sued Dominion, claiming the machines were not fit for their intended use. Pennsylvania state officials brought the matter to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which ordered the county officials to pay attorney’s fees and referred their attorney to the attorney disciplinary board. The court also mandated that the Dominion voting equipment be placed in neutral custody. Overall, the case highlights the consequences of unauthorized access to election systems and the legal repercussions that can result from such actions.
