Last Updated on July 7, 2021
Today, Pennsylvania Sen. Doug Mastriano, who championed election integrity efforts in the state immediately after the 2020 election, announced a forensic investigation into three counties where rumors and accusations of voter fraud swirled last November.
“Today, as Chair of the Intergovernmental Operations Committee, I issued letters to several counties requesting information and materials needed to conduct a forensic investigation of the 2020 General Election and the 2021 Primary,” wrote Mastriano in an op-ed style statement posted to his website. “We have asked these counties to respond by July 31st with a plan to comply. The counties represent different geographical regions of Pennsylvania and differing political makeups. Some are Republican while others are Democrat, which means that this will be a balanced investigation.”
Mastriano declared it “is necessary” due to the “millions of Pennsylvanians” who “have serious doubts about the accuracy of the 2020 General Election,” and cited a January poll revealing that 40% of voters in the state “are not confident” that the certified results of the 2020 election are accurate. (READ MORE: Mastriano Tells National File ‘We Can’t Stand Aside’, Urges Americans To Pray Like “George Washington Asked Us To’)
“The case for a forensic investigation of the 2020 general election is evident to any unbiased observer,” Mastriano added, before listing a series of conspicuous actions taken by Democrats in the state. Mastriano explains that, of the 2.7 million ballots cast by mail or absentee in 2020 – up from 263,000 in 2016 – “Many of these ballots were counted at offsite locations with little outside observation or oversight” and that “mail ballots without signature verification were permitted to be counted across the Commonwealth.”
He also slammed the Department of State, which he wrote “repeatedly altered the manner in which Pennsylvania’s election was conducted” and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which “hours before the polls opened on November 3” ultimately “changed the rules again by providing late guidance on how to help voters whose mail-in or absentee ballots were incorrectly completed.” (READ MORE: Mastriano Unveils Legislation To Ban ‘No Excuse Mail-in Voting’ In Pennsylvania)
“It would defy logic to assume that an election with the kinds of drastic changes we saw in 2020 was run perfectly with zero errors or fraud,” Mastriano added. “The people of our Commonwealth should have confidence that their vote counts. It takes accountability and transparency to ensure that our elections are free and fair.”
Local media predicts that Mastriano and Pennsylvania Senate Republicans will face opposition from the state’s governor, attorney general, and minority Democrats and speculates that “The Democratic bastions of Philadelphia and Allegheny County, home to Pittsburgh, could be prime targets.”
