A delegation of Pennsylvania Republicans is in Arizona to observe the ongoing audit of Maricopa County and they reportedly want an audit of their home state as well:
Pennsylvania Republicans are requesting a 2020 ballot audit. https://t.co/ZWb0AlgFQN
— Newsmax (@newsmax) June 3, 2021
From Arizona:
At the audit today:
PA Senate
Chris Dush
Doug Mastriano @SenMastrianoPA House
Rob KauffmanAZ House
Jacqueline Parker @electjacqparker
Leo Biasiucci @Leo4AzHouse
Joe Chaplik @JosephChaplikAZ Senate
Sonny Borrelli @SonnyBorrelli
Wendy Rogers pic.twitter.com/oLF7xL3fUo— Wendy Rogers (@WendyRogersAZ) June 2, 2021
Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano told the WSJ Alexa Corse that he’s “not about overturning anything” but just “trying to find out what went right, what went wrong”:
Hi there, after I made repeated requests for an interview, PA state Sen. Doug Mastriano called me around 4:30 p.m. local time. I interviewed him for roughly 10 minutes. I’ll tweet some updates here, as part of #AZAuditPool.
— Alexa Corse (@AlexaCorse) June 3, 2021
I asked Sen. Mastriano if he wants Pennsylvania to conduct an audit like in Maricopa. “I do,” he said. I asked him to clarify if he meant the 2020 presidential election, and he said that he would like an audit of the November election. #AZAuditPool
— Alexa Corse (@AlexaCorse) June 3, 2021
Sen. Mastriano also said a bit later in the interview, "I'm not about overturning anything. I'm just trying to find out what went right, what went wrong? And how do we have better elections in the future?” #AZAuditPool
— Alexa Corse (@AlexaCorse) June 3, 2021
He did hint in his interview last night that it’s an uphill road to get an audit approved, however:
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I asked when he’d want PA to start an audit. He said it’s not up to him, said the majority of the Republican caucus or some Democrats would need to support an audit. Then he said that he’d like to see an audit this summer. “It should have already happened,” he said. #AzAuditPool
— Alexa Corse (@AlexaCorse) June 3, 2021
Mastriano said a poll said about 40% of voters in PA have concerns abt integrity of the election. "That's a big problem in a constitutional public. I don't know how you maintain a constitutional republic when people don't think their vote counts.” (not sure the poll) #AzAuditPool
— Alexa Corse (@AlexaCorse) June 3, 2021
Sen. Mastriano added, "So, for the sake of our of our constitutional republic, and for the sake of people's peace of mind, let's just do it. Let's pick a few counties and put people's minds at rest."
He added, "If there's nothing to hide, great." #azauditpool
— Alexa Corse (@AlexaCorse) June 3, 2021
And Republican State Rep. Seth Grove from York threw ice-cold water on the audit plan, tweeting that the “The PA House of Representatives will not be authorizing any further audits on any previous election”:
On November 19, 2020 the Pa House of Representatives authorized an audit of the 2020 General Election through the General Assembly’s audit arm, the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee (LBFC) through HR 1100.
The LBFC rejected taking up the audit on a party line vote. pic.twitter.com/86LzjctCKL
— Rep. Seth Grove (@RepGrove) June 3, 2021
The PA House of Representatives will not be authorizing any further audits on any previous election.
We are focused on fixing our broken election law to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat.
— Rep. Seth Grove (@RepGrove) June 3, 2021
The state Senate, however, could go its own way like what’s happening in Arizona. From the Pennsylvania Capital-Star:
The key Pennsylvania Senate committee chair overseeing state election law opened the door for an audit of the 2020 election on Thursday, one day after three state lawmakers toured an Arizona facility where a similar process is being carried out.
“We are still reviewing the pros and cons,” of a legislative election audit, Senate State Government Committee Chairman Sen. Dave Argall, R-Schuylkill, told the Capital-Star.
Argall, and his counterpart in the House, State Government Committee Chairman Seth Grove, R-York, have key voices in any proposed changes to state election law.
On an audit, they do not agree. Grove tweeted Thursday that “the PA House of Representatives will not be authorizing any further audits on any previous election.”
While the two may need to be aligned to pass bills, Argall said the state’s upper chamber could, like in Arizona, pursue a legislative audit alone.
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