FRANKLIN, Pa. (EYT) — Venango County Senior Judge H. William White has “set aside” the petitions that would have placed a question on the November ballot to allow a portion of Cranberry Township to secede and become a portion of Rockland Township.

In a three short-paragraphs ruling filed with the Venango County prothonotary’s office Wednesday and sent to all parties involved, White wrote:

“AND NOW, this 16th day of August 2017, the Petition Objecting to Acceptance of Petitions and Placement of Referendum on Ballot is granted.”

“The petitions in this proceeding, Exhibit ‘A’, are hereby set aside.”

“Costs in this matter are assessed against the County of Venango.”

At a special July 25 meeting, the Venango County Elections Board accepted six petitions — four from Cranberry Township and two from Rockland Township — that would have placed a question on the ballot in Cranberry asking its residents to allow a portion of the township to leave while simultaneously placing a question on the ballot in Rockland asking its residents to accept the portion of Cranberry Township that would be leaving. The ballot measures would have had to pass in both municipalities for it to become a reality, according to the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Both Rockland and Cranberry challenged the validity of the petitions, though, and filed a lawsuit against the Elections Board saying that the petitions “contain error or defects apparent on the face.”

The townships maintained that the petitions “fail to accurately specify the properties to be transferred and where the new boundary line would be; there is no specified western boundary of the area, and Sandy Creek (which is actually East Sandy Creek) only forms a portion of the southern boundary of Cranberry Township. Thus, it is not clear which properties would be affected by this change.”

The lawsuit also contended that the petitions imply that people in the affected area can choose whether or not they wish to be in Rockland or Cranberry Township, which “is obviously an impossibility” (the entire specified area would be moved) and that the petitions “are otherwise unclear in specifying the precise question to be placed on the ballot.”

White heard testimony from all sides in the matter including a lawyer representing the Cranberry Township residents Aaron Bolinger and Heidi Murdoch who initiated the petition process on Friday, August 11, and issued his ruling Wednesday.

“The two townships are pleased with the result,” Bruce Getsinger, who is representing the townships in the matter, said.

The Elections Board, if it so chooses, could appeal the ruling to the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court. It is not known if Murdoch or Bolinger would be able to appeal the ruling as “intervenors” in the case if the county elects not to.

Election Board solicitor Richard Winkler couldn’t immediately be reached for comment, and a call to Venango County Commissioner Albert “Chip” Abramovic, a member of the Election Board, Wednesday was not immediately returned.