Lancaster County commissioners at a press conference Friday Josh Parsons, Ray D’AgostinoAND Alice Yoder reported that fraudulent voter registration forms were found among nearly 2,500 copies that were returned to the county elections office in the final days of the registration period.
Together with the Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adamsthe group noted that the election staff, headed by the director Krystyna Millerdetected inconsistencies such as duplicate handwriting and incorrect personal data, which led to the District Attorney’s Office being informed.
Preliminary findings indicate that as many as 60 percent of applications are fraudulent, with false addresses and identification data being the indicators.
While Adams emphasized that her comments would be restricted due to the fact that this is an ongoing investigation, she shared that many of the applications “appear to have the same handwriting completed on the same day with unknown signatures, and some of the “They were previously registered voters” and the signatures in the files did not match the signatures on the application.
She added that some applications actually contained correct personal data. However, after contacting the names on the forms, investigators determined that this person did not request or complete them.
“At this time, the fraudulent voter registrations are believed to be related to a large-scale voter registration canvassing effort that began in June, however, the majority of applications received are dated August 15,” Adams said. She also mentioned that canvassers were hired and paid to obtain voter registration applications, but declined to provide information about group or party affiliation.
“The majority of applications came from residents of the City of Lancaster,” she continued. “However, applications have also been received from residents of Columbia, Elizabethtown, Mount Joy, Stevens, Strasburg, as well as other locations in Lancaster County. The canvasses themselves took place in various shopping malls, in grocery store and business parking lots, on sidewalks and in parks. During the initial investigation, detectives determined that some of the claims were indeed substantiated.”
Parsons, chairman of the Lancaster County Commissioners, took the opportunity to praise election staff and criticize the Pennsylvania Department of State as well as local media.
“When we sit here as members of the Election Commission, it is our responsibility to uphold and enforce the law,” he said. “We’ve always done it. I would like to note that earlier this week, even as our nonpartisan election workers were doing their job and detecting suspected fraud, they were attacked with false allegations from groups such as the ACLU, WITF, LNP and others that falsely based allegations that were in essentially absurd.
“All three commissioners unanimously and bipartisanly agree that our employees acted appropriately. Commonwealth Secretary Al Schmidt we repeated the same false allegations that we had already refuted in the letter, the official letter to us. The letter sent by Schmidt and addressed to us was apparently leaked directly to the LNP, and as a result the LNP asked us questions before we saw it.
“So let me say this to Secretary Schmidt or anyone else… we’re hosting probably the biggest, most complicated election of our lifetimes and we don’t have time for this kind of political nonsense. The Pennsylvania Department of State should assist counties in conducting these elections. Frankly, he should now alert other counties for suspected fraud, which we have put on hold in case counties are affected. In the absence of such a message, we will seek to alert the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania of what has occurred here.”
“The Department of State is aware of allegations of voter registration fraud identified this morning by the Lancaster County Board of Elections and its district attorney,” a DOS spokesman said in a statement. “The department is in contact with the county and is offering support in the ongoing investigation.
“The Department appreciates the efforts of election staff for working diligently to detect potential fraud and bring it to the attention of law enforcement agencies. Department guidelines in such cases direct counties to immediately contact law enforcement, which is exactly what Lancaster County officials did. As their officials noted, grassroots voter registration efforts across the commonwealth are significant and warranted, and the system’s safeguards allowed them to identify and isolate these suspicious apps.
“No eligible voter will be denied the opportunity to register, and the Department encourages all residents who have recently registered to vote to check their voter registration online to ensure it is right, which can be done online at www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/pages/voterregistrationstatus.aspx. As the county’s efforts demonstrate, there are many safeguards in place to ensure the integrity of our elections, and Pennsylvanians can rest assured that November’s elections will be sheltered, free and fair.
“We believe in principles and voting rights,” said the chairman of the Lancaster County Democratic Party Tom O’Brien. “Anyone who violates them should be held accountable.”
Leader of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) said: “The commitment of the Board of Elections staff and volunteers deserves special recognition as it comes just days after Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt made unsubstantiated allegations against our county. “Meanwhile, Schmidt’s own ‘Election Threat Task Force’ has provided nothing to help address this now known threat, which may extend far beyond our county borders.”
The investigation is ongoing with assistance from local police and other counties. There are 365,210 registered voters in Lancaster County, with 65,873 absentee ballot requests and 46,000 returns. The Management Board emphasized the importance of honesty and transparency in the electoral process.
The article has been updated to include quotes from Parsons, the State Department, O’Brien and Cutler.
