Requires Chester County to Release Election-Related Documents
- 6 days ago
- 3 min read
On February 9, 2026, the Honorable Lori A. Dumas authored an opinion from the PA Commonwealth Court that upholds the law regarding transparency to the public. The order requires Chester County to release election-related documents, specifically ballot images from the 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 general elections, to the requestor of the information, Diane Houser.
Chester County routinely uses taxpayer funds to fight the release of public records. In this case, the county spent 18 months in legal battles to keep hidden what the law and the court consider public information. Why? Who determines if the county should litigate PA Right To Know Law requests? Will the county comply with the Commonwealth Court ruling?
County of Chester v. Diane Houser
Under the PA Right To Know (RTK) Law, the public must follow a specific process in order to procure information deemed accessible to the public. In Ms. Houser’s case, the process included multiple appeals by Chester County. Here’s the timeline followed for this one case:
Houser filed RTK request – 8/5/24;
Chester County DENIED RTK – 9/11/24;
Houser APPEALS to the PA Office of Open Records (OOR) – 9/23/24;
OOR AFFIRMS Houser appeal and requires Chester County to provide records, Houser wins – 11/19/24;
Chester County APPEALS OOR decision to the Court of Common Pleas – 12/16/24;
Judge Anthony T. Verwey AFFIRMS OOR decision ordering the county to provide access to the responsive records, Houser wins – 3/6/25;
Chester County APPEALS the Court of Common Pleas decision to the PA Commonwealth Court – 4/2/25;
Commonwealth Court AFFIRMS the 3/6/25 Court of Common Pleas decision, Houser wins – 2/9/26
At every step of this process, the courts found that Chester County erred in withholding public records from Ms. Houser. The county’s arguments of the Constitutional right to a secret ballot and election laws overriding RTK laws were deemed without merit and based on hypotheticals, not case law.
Pursue Litigation?
In Chester County, the pursuit of litigation is at the discretion of the County Solicitor. Since January 2023, that position was filled by Colleen Frens. Does that name seem familiar? It should.
Ms. Frens added personnel to the Office of Solicitor resulting in a 36% increase in the department’s budget the year she was hired. She also gave an embarrassing and incorrect legal opinion resulting in the Prothonotary position not being placed on the Primary ballot in 2025. In addition, Ms. Frens is clearly misinterpreting the RTK law as three judicial entities have attested in the Houser case. Perhaps she just doesn’t understand the purpose of the law – transparency, not secrecy!
Will Chester County Comply?
The Chester County Solicitor has 30 days from the date of the Commonwealth Court order to comply or appeal the decision. Although Ms. Frens resigned as County Solicitor, that resignation is not effective until April. It is her call to accept the court orders or to appeal the Houser decision once again. Chester County will not comply!
It only took Solicitor Frens two days from the date of the order to hire outside legal counsel. On February 23, 2026 the new attorneys filed a Motion for Reconsideration with the Commonwealth Court. The court may agree to reconsider the case, but the county will surely appeal to the PA Supreme Court if Commonwealth Court does not.
Every appeal filed by Chester County costs the taxpayers money. Costs include time and travel by county personnel, outside legal counsel fees, court filing fees, and, potentially, legal costs incurred by the appellee, in this case Ms. Houser.
Perhaps the Chester County Commissioners will hire a new County Solicitor who will understand the law, will stop wasting taxpayer funds, and will provide transparency to the public as required by the state legislature. We can hope!
Bottom line…
It’s like a game is being played and concerned citizens don’t realize they are participants. Government entities have unlimited funds and time to deny public information requests. The opponent, the average citizen, must take time and pay legal costs to defend his/her right to obtain public information. How many can’t afford those legal expenses or can’t find non-profits to fund them? How many people just give up, forfeiting the game? This is not government “of the people, by the people, and for the people” as Abraham Lincoln described in his Gettysburg Address. This is not transparency. This is not accountability. This is lawfare at the local level and it must end!
As the Constitutional Convention ended in 1787, Benjamin Franklin was asked if the delegates produced a monarchy or a republic. Franklin replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.”
We are trying to keep this republic that we love and hold our representatives accountable to the people. Join us in that mission and share this Update with your contacts!
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