Three Pennsylvania counties received thousands of fraudulent voter registration applications

By: Juliette Rihl

Lancaster, Pennsylvania — Officials in Lancaster County are investigating a large-scale case of attempted voter registration fraud.

Lancaster County Chief Clerk of Elections, Christa Miller, contacted the District Attorney’s office Tuesday afternoon after receiving approximately 2,500 applications at or near the voter registration deadline. The applications were dropped off in two batches, and numerous applications had indicators of fraud, said Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams at a news conference Friday.

The indicators of fraud include inaccurate addresses, false names and names that did not match the provided social security information, she said.

The District Attorney’s office believes the applications are part of a large-scale fraud effort dating back to June and conducted by a single organization, though county officials declined to name the organization as the investigation is still ongoing. 

Adams said criminal and election codes had been violated, and her office plans to prosecute those behind the operation. 

At least two other counties have also received similar fraudulent applications, Adams said, though she declined to name the counties.

The applications were collected by paid canvassers in public places such as shopping centers, sidewalks, parks and businesses, Adams said. A majority of the applications were from City of Lancaster residents, though some were from Columbia, Elizabethtown, Mount Joy and elsewhere in the county.

The District Attorney’s office and the Board of Elections are working to review the applications. Of the portion that the District Attorney’s office has reviewed so far, some were legitimate, but about 60% were deemed fraudulent, Adams said.

Adams urged people who believe their personal information was used on a voter registration application without their consent, or who were approached by someone and asked to register under suspicious circumstances, to call the District Attorney’s office at 717-299-8100 and ask to speak to the on-call detective. 

Officials said the fact that the elections office stopped the fraudulent applications is proof the system is working and the county’s election process is secure.

“Thankfully we stopped part one, right? That was getting a voter on the books that perhaps shouldn’t have been. But part two is whether or not anyone intended to turn that application into a fraudulent vote. And for all intents and purposes, that’s been stopped,” Adams said.

Lancaster County Commissioner member Ray D’Agostino chimed in.

“Anyone who tries part two, potentially,” he said, “We’re going to find you.”

The investigation comes just days after Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt sent a letter to the county’s Board of Elections accusing it of violating the law by denying local college students their right to register to vote and request mail-in or absentee ballots, as first reported by Lancaster Online.

During Friday’s news conference, Lancaster County Commissioner Josh Parsons called the allegations “false” and “absurd,” and said they had been debunked.

“Let me say this to Secretary Schmidt or anyone else: We are running what may be the largest and most complicated election in our lifetime, and we do not have time for that kind of political nonsense,” Parsons said.

All legitimate voter registration applications will be processed by the close of business Friday, Lancaster County Commissioner Alice Yoder said.

As of Thursday, the county had a record 365,210 voters registered.