A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was sent to the Bedford County Election Department regarding pre-election voting machine test reports on October 30, 2024. The request was made by us at Altoona Times, a media organization committed to providing comprehensive and accurate news coverage on local governmental affairs.
The request was made under the Pennsylvania Right to Know Law, 65 §66.1 et seq., with a preference for electronic format delivery. The records sought are specific to the pre-election testing of voting machines in Bedford County.
We asked for the reports in PDF format and specified that they should include the following fields: test date, machine manufacture, machine model number, and machine status indicating whether each machine passed or failed its pre-election test.
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.
This FOIA request is part of our ongoing commitment at Altoona Times to ensure transparency and accountability in local government affairs.
Alerts Sign-up