Conservatives this month criticized the Pennsylvania Department of State for scheduling a system maintenance update on its voter registration website on the same day that former President Trump returned to Butler, where he survived an assassination attempt in July.
The operation would have taken the site offline for several hours during the same time period the Trump campaign hoped to register voters. However, the department moved the deadline for maintenance to later in the evening amid an early outcry.
“The PA Department of State voter registration website will be unavailable on Saturday, October 5, the day President Trump will triumphantly return to the site of the assassination attempt in Butler County, PA. With all eyes posts in PA, the site will be Coincidence? Republican activist Scott Pressler posted on Instagram on Thursday.
Fox News Digital reviewed archived data from the Pennsylvania Voter Registration website and found that it issued a notice to voters that the website would be unavailable on October 5 beginning at 6 p.m.
“This website will undergo scheduled system maintenance and will be unavailable on Saturday, October 5 from 6 pm to 12 am. We thank you for your understanding,” the Pennsylvania Voter Registration website stated on October 1, on an archived page reviewed by Fox News Digital. .
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Former President Trump is assisted by US Secret Service personnel after gunshots were heard during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
Trump announced on September 25 that he would make a historic return to Butler on October 5, months after he was shot in the side of the head by a would-be assassin on July 13. The Pennsylvania Voter Registration website announced its scheduled maintenance. sometime between September 30 and October 1, archived site data reviewed by Fox Digital shows.
Republican National Committee co-chair Lara Trump and Pressler sounded the alarm about the scheduled maintenance earlier this month, questioning the timing and criticizing the move as “election interference.”
“Wow, they’re not even trying to hide their blatant interference. I appreciate you pointing that out, @scottpresler. @goplegal is on this and formally requesting that ‘system maintenance’ be moved to a different time,” Lara Trump posted on Facebook on Thursday, accompanied by a screenshot of an Instagram post by Pressler asking if the timing of the maintenance was just a “coincidence.”
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Archived website records show that Pennsylvania officials updated the page on October 3 (the same day Pressler and Lara Trump publicly posted the timing of the maintenance) to reflect that the site would undergo maintenance between 10 p.m. 4 am, instead of 6 pm until midnight.
Trump was scheduled to take the stage in Butler at 5 p.m. on Saturday, meaning the site would have gone dark as he rallied his base and encouraged residents to register to vote.
Pressler joined Jack Posobiec of Human Events He spoke about the matter last week, taking a victory lap whose schedule was changed later that night after the rally, but added that he is still not “100 percent satisfied” with the timing of the schedule maintenance. Pressler noted that website updates are typically scheduled late at night, when users are less likely to use the platform.
Former President Trump addresses the crowd at a rally Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024, in Butler, Pennsylvania, where he survived an assassination attempt on July 13. (Matthew McDermott for Fox News Digital)
“It was clear that the Pennsylvania Department of State was engaging in election interference, trying to prevent all this national attention from translating into new voter registrations,” Pressler said.
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Lara Trump also celebrated how the scheduled maintenance was moved to later that night, sharing on Facebook on Thursday: “And just like that, we got the Palestinian Authority to move it. A great example of what happens when citizens demand justice.”
Eric and Lara Trump take the stage for former President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, October 5, 2024. (Matthew McDermott for Fox News Digital)
When asked for comment on the maintenance and the recent reaction, the Pennsylvania Department of State told Fox News Digital on Sunday that the maintenance was originally scheduled for September before being rescheduled for October 5.
“Voter registration system maintenance on October 5, 2024 was scheduled for September 17, 2024. It was rescheduled to take place from 10 pm on Saturday, October 5 to 4 am on Sunday, October 6. October, to accommodate the county. Election officials dedicating additional time over the weekend to ensure each of the 67 counties are ready by November 5, 2024,” the State Department said in a comment.
The website is up and running as of Sunday morning and no longer includes the disclaimer for a scheduled maintenance outage. Fox News Digital did not document the site’s closure for maintenance from Saturday night to Sunday morning, although screenshots of the site posted on social media show the status of the site. error page reported for maintenance.
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A review of State Department social media shows the website was previously shut down for scheduled maintenance at odd hours during the day, including in June 29 from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. the next day.
People wave signs at former President Trump’s rally in Butler on Saturday, October 5, 2024. (Matthew McDermott for Fox News Digital)
The historic rally in Butler drew thousands of people as Trump returned to the same spot where he was nearly assassinated, as well as brief remarks from tech billionaire Elon Musk, who emphasized the importance of registering to vote.
“YO I think it is the most important election of our lives. This is not just any election. The other party wants to take away your freedom of expression. “They want to take away your right to bear arms… They want to take away your right to vote effectively,” Musk told the crowd on Saturday.
Musk repeatedly encouraged crowds to get everyone in their social circles and beyond to register and vote on Election Day.
A large crowd awaits former President Trump’s arrival in Butler on Saturday, October 5, 2024. (Matthew McDermott for Fox News Digital)
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“And honestly, what you want is to just be a pest. Be a pest to everyone. You know, people on the street everywhere,” he said.
“Fight, fight, fight, vote, vote, vote,” Musk added, referring to how Trump shouted “fight, fight, fight” to the crowd after he was shot in the ear in July.
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