Conservatives criticized the Pennsylvania Department of State this month for scheduling a system maintenance update of 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 website offline for several hours while the Trump campaign was expected to register voters. However, due to an early outcry, the department pushed back the maintenance window to later that night.

“The PA Department of State’s voter registration website will be unavailable on Saturday, October 5, the day President Trump will make a triumphant return to the site of the attack in Butler County, PA. When all eyes are on PA, the website will be available below. Coincidence?” GOP 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 disclaimer to voters saying the site would be unavailable on October 5 from 6 p.m

“This website is undergoing scheduled system maintenance and will be unavailable on Saturday, October 5th from 6:00 p.m. to 12:00 p.m. “We thank you for your understanding,” the Pennsylvania Voter Registration website said Oct. 1, according to an archived page reviewed by Fox News Digital.

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Former President Trump is assisted by U.S. Secret Service agents after shots were fired 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 suspected assassin on July 13. Pennsylvania’s voter registration website announced its planned maintenance sometime between September 30 and October 1, archived data for the site reviewed by Fox Digital shows.

Republican National Committee co-chairs Lara Trump and Pressler sounded the alarm about the planned maintenance earlier this month, questioning the timing and calling the move “election interference.”

“Wow, they’re not even trying to hide their blatant interference – I appreciate your report, @scottpresler – @gop legal is on board and the formal request for ‘system maintenance’ is postponed until another time,” Lara Trump posted on Facebook Thursday, accompanied by a screenshot of an Instagram post from Pressler asking if the timing of the maintenance was just a “coincidence.”

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Archived records from the site show that Pennsylvania officials updated the page on Oct. 3 — the same day that Pressler and Lara Trump publicly updated the timing of the maintenance — to clarify that the site was running from 10 p.m The wait is until 4 a.m. and 6 p.m. until midnight.

Trump was scheduled to take the stage in Butler on Saturday at 5 p.m., meaning the site would have gone dark as he rallied his supporters and urged residents to register to vote.

Pressler joined Jack Posobiec of Human Events last week about the matter as he took a victory lap after the rally, the time of which was changed later in the night, but added that he was still not “100 percent satisfied” with the timing of meeting the schedule. Pressler noted that website updates are typically scheduled at night, when users are less likely to use the platform.

Former President Trump speaks to 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 and trying to prevent all of this national attention from translating into new voter registrations,” Pressler said.

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Lara Trump also celebrated that scheduled maintenance was postponed later that night, sharing on Facebook on Thursday: “And just like that we got PA to postpone it. Great example of what happens when citizens demand justice.”

Eric and Lara Trump arrive on stage at 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 recent backlash, the Pennsylvania Department of State told Fox News Digital on Sunday that the maintenance was originally scheduled for September before being pushed back to October 5.

“The October 5, 2024 voter registration system maintenance was scheduled for September 17, 2024. It has been postponed from 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5 to 4 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 6 to accommodate the needs of county election officials devoting additional weekend time to ensure each of the 67 counties are ready for the 5th election . November 2024,” the State Department said in a comment.

The website is functional as of Sunday morning and no longer contains a disclaimer for a planned maintenance outage. Fox News Digital did not document the site’s shutdown for maintenance from Saturday evening through Sunday morning, although screenshots of the site posted on social media show the site’s reported error page for maintenance.

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A check of the State Department’s social media shows that the site has previously been closed at irregular times of the day for scheduled maintenance, including on June 29 from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. the following 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 as Trump returned to the same grounds where he was nearly killed, and featured brief remarks from tech billionaire Elon Musk, who stressed the importance of registering to vote.

“I I think it’s the most important election of our lives. This is no ordinary election. The other side 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 urged the crowd to encourage everyone in his social circle and beyond to register and vote on Election Day.

A large crowd awaits the arrival of former President Trump in Butler on Saturday, October 5, 2024. (Matthew McDermott for Fox News Digital)

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“And honestly, you just want to be a nuisance. Just be a nuisance for everyone. You know, there are people on the streets everywhere,” he said.

“Fight, fight, fight, vote, vote, vote,” Musk added, referring to Trump shouting “fight, fight, fight” to the crowd after he was shot in the ear in July.

Get the latest updates on the 2024 election, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital Election Center.