On August 29, 2012, in a 5-2 decision, the Commonwealth Court denied our motion for partial summary judgment. The Court determined that the votes on DRE machines and the thin thermal paper upon which results can be printed satisfy the Pennsylvania Election Code’s requirements for “permanent physical records.”

It also concluded that DREs are secure and verifiable, and that the Secretary of State must report on the reexamination of DREs within fifteen days of the order. Judge McCullough, joined by Judge Pelligrini, dissented from the decision that the electronic data stored in DREs are “permanent” and “physical.”