Pennsylvania officials announced on Friday that they are investigating up to 2,500 fraudulent voter registration applications in Lancaster County, which election workers identified during routine checks of the submissions.
Upon examining the personal information, identification, and signatures on the applications, election officials discovered inaccuracies, mismatched signatures compared to those on file, and forms that appeared to be filled out by the same individual, indicating potential forgery.
These applications were completed by paid canvassers as part of a “large-scale canvassing operation” that began in June, according to District Attorney Heather Adams. She also noted that at least two other counties might have received fraudulent applications.
“We have confirmed violations of both our crimes code and elections code. Our detectives are fully engaged in this effort, and we are committed to assessing the validity of these applications swiftly,” Adams stated.
Election officials promptly alerted law enforcement about the discrepancies they found during the review, which led to a broad investigation. Police are now reaching out to voters whose information was included in the suspect applications.
So far, after a thorough examination, at least 60% of the reviewed forms have been deemed fraudulent, although some applications are legitimate, according to Adams.
“Forms that have been thoroughly investigated and cleared of fraud will be processed,” said Ray D’Agostino, chair of the county’s Board of Elections. “I want to emphasize that no eligible voter will be turned away.”
All the problematic forms were submitted close to the voter registration deadline of October 21, a crucial date in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state.
The Pennsylvania Department of State commended the Lancaster election staff for their vigilance, stating that it is offering support to the county.
“As noted by officials, grassroots efforts to register voters across the Commonwealth are both important and legitimate. The system’s safeguards enabled us to identify and isolate these questionable applications,” the department’s statement read. “No eligible voter will be denied the chance to register, and we encourage residents who recently registered to verify their voter registration online for accuracy.”
Lancaster County, located in the southeastern region of Pennsylvania, has tended to lean Republican in recent elections.
Scott Pressler, a conservative activist and founder of Early Vote Action, which aims to register Republicans in swing states like Pennsylvania, denied any involvement in the fraudulent activities. In a post on X, he asserted, “I can unequivocally state that this has nothing to do with @EarlyVoteAction. Our staff submits voter registration forms as we register voters. The most forms we’ve ever submitted at one time was 400 in Luzerne County.”
This incident is not unique; in Michigan, five Republican candidates were disqualified from running for governor in 2022 due to the actions of paid petition gatherers who forged numerous nominating petitions.
