Pennsylvania officials said Friday they are investigating 2,500 fraudulent voter registration applications flagged by Lancaster County election workers during a routine review of the forms.
When election officials reviewed the personal information, identification cards, and signatures on the forms, they found inaccurate information, signatures that did not match the signatures on file for the voter, and forms that appeared to be filled out by the same person with the same handwriting.
District Attorney Heather Adams told reporters Friday that the application forms were filled out by paid canvassers as part of a “large-scale investigative operation” that has been ongoing since June. She added that at least two other counties may have received fraudulent registration applications. .
“We have confirmed the violation of our criminal code, as well as our election code. We have all detectives working on this. We all work together to be able to correctly assess the reliability of these applications in time.”
Election officials reported issues they discovered while reviewing voter registration forms to law enforcement, and a large-scale investigation was launched, prompting police to contact the voters listed on the forms.
Adams noted that after an extensive review of registration applications, at least 60% of the forms examined so far have been found to be fraudulent. Some of the apps look legit.
“Applications that have gone through this extensive review and investigation process and are not considered fraudulent are considered,” said County Board of Elections Chairman Ray D’Agostino. “I want to stress this, no eligible voter will be turned away.”
The forms were dropped off on or near the Oct. 21 voter registration deadline in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state.
Lancaster County, located in the southeastern part of the state, has leaned Republican in recent elections.
Conservative activist Scott Pressler, founder of Early Vote Action, a group that tries to register Republicans in swing states like Pennsylvania, has denied involvement in the scheme. In an article on X on friday.
“I can state unequivocally that this has nothing to do with @EarlyVoteAction. Our staff is handing out voter registration forms when they register voters. The most we’ve ever given out is 400 in Luzerne County,” Pressler said. post.
This wouldn’t be the first time paid canvassers have created fake political uniforms. In Michigan, where candidates must gather signatures from supporters to get on the ballot, Five candidates of Republicans were excluded from participation in the elections After the 2022 gubernatorial petition gatherers falsified countless nominations.