U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick sues to remove Bucks County commissioner from Board of Elections

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U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Bucks County, filed a lawsuit Thursday seeking to block Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia from serving on the election board.

The petition, filed in the county’s Court of Common Pleas, comes less than a week before Election Day and amid a closely contested race between Fitzpatrick and Democratic Bucks County Commissioner Bob Harvie to represent Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District.

Fitzpatrick alleges in the complaint that Ellis-Marseglia’s public support for Harvie’s campaign and comments she made regarding a disputed vote in 2024 to count undated or misdated ballots, among other actions, represent a “clear conflict of interest.” Her participation on the election board “creates an irreconcilable appearance of impropriety and a violation of due process,” the lawsuit reads.

Fitzpatrick request for commissioner’s removal has no basis in election code, says county solicitor

Prior to filing the petition, Fitzpatrick sent a letter through his attorney earlier in the week requesting that Ellis-Marseglia recuse herself from the election board.

The request has no basis in election code, County Solicitor Dan Grieser wrote in a letter Wednesday directed to Fitzpatrick’s counsel Geoffrey R. Johnson. The only time a commissioner can be displaced from the board is when that commissioner is a candidate for nomination or election to any public office, per the solicitor.

“No provision of the Election Code authorizes removal or disqualification of a commissioner from the board for partisan conduct,” the letter reads.

Since being sworn in as a commissioner nearly two decades ago, Ellis-Marseglia has served on the election board for 15 general elections, and recused herself in years when she was on the ballot.

Ellis-Marseglia, a Democrat, has voted to certify the elections of Fitzpatrick five times, among other Republican victories, the solicitor noted.

“In that time – as is well documented – Commissioner Marseglia has vocally supported Democratic candidates, as is her First Amendment right, but that has never stopped her from certifying the results of elections where Republicans have won,” the letter reads.