PA should resist election audit efforts
In early July, state Sen. Doug Mastriano submitted a request to York, Tioga, and Philadelphia county officials: turn over election-related data by the end of the month to pave the way for an audit of the 2020 election. No matter the fact that Pennsylvania already conducted a risk-limiting audit that verified the election results. Republican party officials have, to their credit, refused to comply, but Mastriano could issue subpoenas and force election officials to give over their data. He recently said: “As soon as I get a quorum, we will have a meeting, we will vote on subpoenas, and let the fun begin.”
The details behind his audit push show that Mastriano, R-Franklin, is not interested in the truth, but rather in having his “fun” while showing his allegiance to former President Trump’s election conspiracy theories. And this isn’t the first time Mastriano has gone down the rabbit hole of “alternative facts.” Despite assertions to the contrary, he is committed to the QAnon conspiracy theory — tweeting referencesto QAnon over 50 times.
While Mastriano might be one of the only Pennsylvania lawmakers to support an audit, it was not his original idea. He recently traveled to Arizona to learn from the incompetent CyberNinja audit.
The Cyber Ninjas have rendered useless expensive voting equipment because election officials have no way of knowing what might have been done to the machines. They must now be replaced at the taxpayer’s expense — to the tune of $2.8 million — to ensure future elections are safe and secure. Mastriano, on the other hand, was too “impressed” to see beyond their ineptitude.
The state senator is no stranger to election conspiracies. He used $3,354 of his campaign funds to send six busloads of people to Washington, D.C., for the “Save America Rally” on Jan. 6. One benefactor of Mastriano’s, James Sinclair of Bensalem, Pa.,, “was arrested for curfew violation and possession of a weapon” during thedeadly Capitol insurrection.
Mastriano joined the chaos at the Capitol, too. Though he has not been charged for his involvement, his accounts of his whereabouts have been disputed by reports. While Mastriano was jaunting around the outskirts of the Capitol, heroic officers faced what they thought was certain death. CapitolPolice Sgt. Aquilino Gonell recalled thinking, “this is how I’m going to die, defending this entrance,” as the insurrectionistmob closed ranks.
Even if Mastriano did not break any laws that day, he clearly aligned himself with the insurrectionists and against the brave D.C. and Capitol police officers.
Given Mastriano’s outlandish requests, even other Republicans won’t touch his plan to bring the Arizona “fraudit” to Pennsylvania. The three Tioga County commissioners, all Republicans, denied his request for election materials.
Republican lawmakers in Fulton County have already wasted taxpayers’ money on a botched audit by using a firm with “no knowledge or expertise in election technology,” according to Acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid. Thanks to this Republican carelessness, Fulton County needs to replace the compromisedvoting machines.
Tioga County solicitor Christopher Gabriel raised this concern over Mastriano’s proposed audit. “We can’t be ina position,” Gabriel said, “where we don’t have the election machines, because we have to run the next election, theseare extremely expensive.”
Philadelphia County officials rejected Mastriano’s plan on its premise and its consequences. The election was fair, they explained, and an audit could force the county to spend at least $35 million to replace voting systems andequipment.
Pennsylvania voters are wise to Mastriano’s shell game. A majority of Pennsylvanians believe Biden fairly won the election. These numbers reveal the ugly truth about the Pennsylvania fraudit: This is about Mastriano andhis audience of one, not the voters.
The proposed Pennsylvania fraudit comes down to this: A deeply partisan politician is pushing for an audit that is as unnecessary as it is wasteful. And it will cost Pennsylvanians more than money; it will cost trust in the fabric of our democratic system.