Pennsylvania investigates 2,500 voter registrations for fraud, many raise questions about integrity of polling

With less than two weeks left for the upcoming presidential elections, officials in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania are investigating about 2,500 voter registrations after poll workers found that they might be fraudulent. While addressing a press conference on Friday, Heather Adams, the district attorney, stated that the registrations under investigation were dropped off in two batches before Pennsylvania’s voter-registration deadline on Monday.

The election workers contacted the DA office after they noticed several suspicious applications that contained the same handwriting, signatures for voters that didn’t match what was on file, and inaccurate personal identifier information, including names, addresses, social security and driver’s license numbers, The Guardian reported.

Adams stated that the officials also spoke to voters who said that they had not requested or filled out the forms that were turned in. The announcement came at a time when voting is currently underway in the state. Pennsylvania is being seen as a must-win battleground state for both former US President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.

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60% of applications reviewed are fraudulent

While the DA did not reveal how many applications are in her office, she maintained that 60 per cent of the applications reviewed by her office are fraudulent. However, Adams informed that there were some legitimate applications in the batch as well and those registrations would be processed.

It is pertinent to note that the Lancaster County of Pennsylvania is known for its Amish population. The region voted for Trump by nearly 16 points in the 2020 presidential election against the current US President Joe Biden.

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At the press briefing, Adams also noted that two other counties in the state are investigating a similar issue. Officials did not say whether there was a partisan breakdown in the applications. “It really shouldn’t matter. If there are voters on the books that shouldn’t be, it increases the chance that we’re gonna have voter fraud,” the officials noted.

Interestingly, the announcement came days after the county was accused of wrongfully holding up voter registration applications from students.

With inputs from agencies.