Although the 2024 election is behind us, two electoral board members in Waynesboro are continuing their challenge of ballot-counting machines. WMRA's Randi B. Hagi reports.
A month before election day last year, two of Waynesboro's three electoral board members sued state election officials over how Virginia uses ballot-counting machines, refusing to certify the results under current procedure. In response, five local voters sued them. Judge Paul A. Dryer ordered the board members – Curtis Lilly II and Scott Mares – to certify the city's election results, which they ultimately did. Dryer wrote in an opinion letter that their concerns would be best raised via the legislative process, and "the personal beliefs of a local board of elections cannot derail the election process for the entire commonwealth."
Since then, the electoral board members' attorney, Front Royal-based Thomas Ranieri, filed to voluntarily drop their lawsuit against the state officials. But they've appealed the court order that made them sign off on the 2024 results. The Court of Appeals of Virginia has not yet indicated when they'll review the case. Ranieri said in an email that they're going to "make some adjustments to the original case theory" before bringing that back to the courts.
As the News Leader previously reported, Waynesboro General Registrar Lisa Jeffers wrote in an affidavit that Lilly and Mares had approved the purchase of the city's current ballot-counting machines in 2023. Lilly declined an interview with WMRA, and Mares did not return a request for comment. Mares, however, is no longer on the board – his term ended on December 31st, and the Waynesboro Republican Committee nominated Forrest Jones, an experienced election volunteer, in his place. The committee also did not respond to requests for comment. For WMRA News, I'm Randi B. Hagi.
