Brian Fitzpatrick sues to remove a Democratic Bucks County commissioner from the election board days before his contest

Republican U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick filed a lawsuit Thursday in an effort to disqualify Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia from serving on the county election board ahead of a tight contest against her fellow commissioner, Bob Harvie.

Fitzpatrick’s suit alleges that Ellis-Marseglia has shown a “disdain for election law” and should be removed for “conflicts of interest” in the Thursday filing with the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.

Ellis-Marseglia is close friends with Harvie, Fitzpatrick’s Democratic challenger, and has attended events for his campaign.

The suit comes just five days ahead of the high-stakes Nov. 3 election. Harvie narrowly led the incumbent Republican by 2 percentage points in an Inquirer/New York Times/Siena University poll released this week.

The lawsuit urges the court to remove Ellis-Marseglia from the board and appoint a substitute for the upcoming election, alleging that the Democrat serving on the committee violates Fitzpatrick’s due process rights after she has publicly supported Harvie and portrayed an “animus” toward the Republican.

“When a public official charged with overseeing or influencing the conduct of elections publicly expresses disdain for controlling election law for blatantly partisan purposes, and publicly expresses extreme partisan bias against candidates from opposing political parties, she has a clear conflict of interest,” Geoffrey R. Johnson, an attorney for Fitzpatrick, wrote in the complaint.

The three-person board oversees elections in the county, including certifying results. Judge Jordan Yeager chairs the board and Republican Commissioner Gene DiGirolamo is also a member.

Harvie, a former chair of the elections board, recused himself from the panel after launching his campaign for Congress.

The suit comes after Johnson sent a letter to Ellis-Marseglia on Tuesday asking her to recuse herself.

Bucks County Solicitor Dan Grieser responded on Wednesday, informing Johnson that Ellis-Marseglia has a First Amendment right to express her political views and would not be stepping away from the board. She was first sworn in as county commissioner in 2008 and has served on the election board for 15 general elections.

Election code only requires members to recuse themselves when they are on the ballot — not for political conduct, Grieser wrote, adding that Ellis-Marseglia has always certified the elections of Republican candidates she personally opposes, including all of Fitzpatrick’s wins, Republican row office sweeps, and President Donald Trump’s narrow 2024 win in the county.

“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,” Grieser wrote.

Fitzpatrick’s suit also highlights a 2024 controversy surrounding ballots in the recount of the U.S. Senate race during which Democratic-led boards including in Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, and Centre Counties decided to defy a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling and count undated ballots.

Around that time, Ellis-Marseglia said: “I think we all know that precedent by a court doesn’t matter anymore in this country.”

“People violate laws any time they want,” she added. “So, for me, if I violate this law it’s because I want a court to pay attention. There’s nothing more important than counting votes.”

A few days later she apologized for her comments and said the bipartisan backlash was a “misinterpretation of inartfully worded statement on my part, but taken completely out of context.” She also expressed appreciation for the state Supreme Court reaffirming its ruling and providing clarity on the situation.

Fitzpatrick himself has been publicly supported by a county commissioner before — Rob Loughery, a Republican, in 2018.

Johnson said in the suit that Loughery’s support is not comparable to Ellis-Marseglia’s actions, such as holding a “Fire Fitz” sign or allegedly removing copies of the Bucks County Herald that feature a Fitzpatrick ad from the county administration building.

“Commissioner Marseglia’s recent conduct can only be characterized as ultra-level political activism which evinces an extreme partisan bias,” Johnson wrote.

Thursday’s suit is the latest development in what has been a contentious and increasingly litigious campaign cycle in the Bucks County-based 1st Congressional District, one of four swing districts in Pennsylvania that could determine party control of the U.S. House.

“It is deeply unfortunate that Brian Fitzpatrick is now following in the footsteps of Donald Trump by trying to sow doubt in the administration of an election because he is afraid of losing,” Harvie said in a statement. “After a decade in Washington, Fitzpatrick has changed and this is just another example.”

Harvie filed his own lawsuit in August against a pro-Fitzpatrick PAC for alleged defamation related to attack ads in the bitter race.

A spokesperson for Fitzpatrick’s campaign did not immediately return a request for comment. And his attorney did not provide further comment on the legal filing.