Topline
Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano informed supporters that his attempts to launch a forensic inquiry into the state's election results were halted Thursday after the Republican claimed that he was prohibited from proceeding with a plan for subpoenas for counties to inspect their election equipment.
Pennsylvania state senator Doug Mastriano speaks with supporters of President Donald Trump at the... [+] Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg on November 7, 2020. ASSOCIATED PRS
The Key Facts
Mastriano claimed that his audit efforts were stopped and that his cause was weaker and diminished. He also said that he had created a Facebook Live video to report that he requested materials, including ballots and voting machines, from Pennsylvania's Tioga County. This would allow a private company to examine the equipment for irregularities. Even GOP officials resisted his plan, with Tioga County commissioners requesting that Mastriano withdraw his demands. The statement was issued August 10, and it noted that the Republican leadership of the Pennsylvania state legislature had been largely silent about Mastriano's plans and had not publicly supported them. The Mastrianos office has yet to respond to a request for comment.
Important Quote
Pray that it is done, and pray that you stick together. Mastriano shared a portion of Thursday's Facebook livestream, which was shared on Twitter. You know that there is a way to do it without being stopped.
Chief Critic
Pennsylvanians need to speak together to end the Big Lie. In response to Mastrianos' comments, Josh Shapiro, Pennsylvania Attorney General, tweeted Thursday that the goal of those accused of election fraud is to reverse the results of a fair and free election.
Important Background
After threatening to launch an investigation into the election results in accordance with the Arizona audit, Mastriano wrote letters to three Pennsylvania counties asking for their materials in July. Acting Secretary of state in Pennsylvania Veronica Degraffenreid issued a new directive stating that the state would decertify any voting machines in any county that was turned over to Mastriano. This is similar to what happened in Fulton County, which had participated in an independent election audit. Even though the threat of having their machines decertified would have required counties to spend potentially millions of dollars to replace them, the Republican-leaning counties declined to participate in Mastrianos probe. This opened the possibility for Mastriano, who could issue subpoenas to force the counties into turning over their materials. As Republicans are inspired by the Arizona probe, the Pennsylvania audit is just one of many new attempts to launch election investigations across the country. The U.S. Department of Justice warned that the practice of taking voting equipment from election officials could be in violation of federal law.
Continue reading
Pa. GOP lawmaker claims the cause for a criminal investigation into forensic elections is weakening and diminished (Pennsylvania Capital Star)
Republican Officials Slam Arizona-Style Election Audit in Pennsylvania: Unnecessary Chaos
Pennsylvania Audit Pushback Increases as GOP County Refuses To Turn Over Election Materials (Forbes).
Trump Won States and Counties Reject Calls to Launch Their Own Arizona-Styled Election Audits (Forbes).
DoJ warns states not to conduct their own Arizona-style election audits (Forbes).
