The judge made the ruling a day before Election Day.
A local judge ruled yesterday that Waynesboro election officials need to certify the votes in the election this year and allow the votes of local voters to count.
Waynesboro Circuit Court Judge Paul Dryer issued an opinion directing two Republican members, Curtis Lilly and Scott Mares, of the three-person local electoral board to certify the election results as required by Virginia law.
“Today’s ruling is a huge victory for the voters of Waynesboro,” said John Powers, Director of Advancement Project’s Power and Democracy Program in a statement. “This attempt to avoid certifying the election results has been stopped in its tracks.”
The judge’s opinion came in response to Lilly and Mares filing a lawsuit against their duties to certify the election based on the conspiracy theory that electronic vote counting machines are unreliable. Five local voters filed a countersuit against Lilly and Mares.
“The personal beliefs of members of a local board of elections cannot derail the electoral process for the entire Commonwealth,” Judge Dryer said in his opinion.
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