Keystone Today

A Pennsylvania state legislator is continuing former President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims that the 2020 presidential election was rife with fraud as he seeks a forensic investigation of the 2020 election and the 2021 primary in the Keystone State. 

In a news release from his office, Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Greene Township), a Trump ally, said a forensic investigation would examine the results and procedures in place for both of the last two statewide elections. He said that the probe will restore faith in the electoral process. 

“This is necessary as millions of Pennsylvanians have serious doubts about the accuracy of the 2020 general election,” he wrote in the news release. “A January poll from Muhlenberg (College) showed that 40% of Pennsylvania voters are not confident that the results of the 2020 election accurately reflected how Pennsylvanians voted.”

Sen. Douglas Mastriano | SenatorMastriano.com

Numerous recounts and court cases have turned up no instances of voter fraud in Pennsylvania's 2020 election. Now-President Joe Biden carried the state by about 80,000 votes.

In the Pennsylvania Senate, Mastriano, a retired U.S. Army colonel, serves as chairman of the Intergovernmental Operations Committee. In that capacity, he has issued letters to several counties seeking information and materials to conduct the probe. He also argued in the news release that any unbiased person would agree that a forensic review of the 2020 general election is needed. 

He maintains that Pennsylvania law gives the panel the authority to conduct such a review.    

“This is the first election in Pennsylvania with ‘mass’ mail-in voting,” he wrote in the news release. “In 2020 there were 2.7 million ballots cast by mail and absentee, compared with about 263,000 absentee ballots cast in 2016.” The dramatic increase in mail-in voting is due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mastriano also wrote that many of the ballots were counted at off-site locations where transparency was allegedly an issue. 

“Voting is the fundamental right of all citizens,” Mastriano wrote. “We should continually look for ways to improve the voting process to ensure every voice is heard.”

Mastriano’s effort in Pennsylvania isn’t the first try to force a review of the 2020 election. Similar efforts have been started in other states, including Georgia. According to the Peach Tree Times, a review of ballots in Fulton County found that 25% of absentee ballots in the county did not have chain of custody documents, documents which verify how the ballots arrived at the registrar’s office. 

A similar audit is also underway in Maricopa County, Arizona, according to the Grand Canyon Times. The audit includes approximately 400 voting machines and about 2.1 million ballots.  It started in April and was expected to be completed by June.

Previous recounts in Maricopa County and in the state of Arizona found no major irregularities relating to the 2020 election. 

Support for Mastriano’s effort has been mixed. According to The Washington Times, Democrats in the Pennsylvania Senate urged their Republican colleagues to put an end to Mastriano’s efforts, maintaining that the committee doesn’t have the power to conduct election investigations. Democrats argue that Mastriano is simply trying to win Trump's support as Mastriano considers a run for governor.