(1-9-24) When the Daily Standard posted their article today –

The Secretary of State’s Office on Monday informed board of elections directors Deb Sneddon and Kristi Rable that “the challenge was not valid because it didn’t come from the same party.”

This past Friday the Mercer County Republican Party filed a protest on Democrat State Rep Arienne Childrey’s petitions.

RELATED:

The Outlook sent an email to the Secretary of State’s Office for a formal statement on the issue. The first reply the Outlook received back from the Director of Media Relations for the Secretary of State Melanie Amato said –

We have not ruled on the situation in Mercer County. That decision is made at the Mercer County Board of Elections. We are not involved.

So in the next email the Outlook sent the link to the Standard’s story and asked for clarification, Amata replied saying –

This (Daily Standard) article is misleading.

We did not deem anything invalid. Our legal team called the prosecutors office in Mercer County and read the statue and part of the election manual where a protest is talked about it. The County Board of Elections and the prosecutors office is still the one that has to make that call.

It seems that the ball is in local official hands to decide on the issue.

Update after this story was posted—

Mercer County Board of Elections–Notice of Meeting

Mercer County Courthouse Auditorium

Date:               1/18/2024 Time:              10:00 am

Purpose:        To hear an update on the status of a protest and to determine if the board will revisit the candidate’s certification.