Lancaster County DA investigating attempted fraudulent voter registration applications • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Lancaster County officials said Friday that election workers prevented an attempt to submit fraudulent voter registration applications that were turned in at the county Board of Elections office shortly before the deadline Monday.

District Attorney Heather Adams said her office is investigating but declined to provide many details, saying that the investigation is ongoing and that the number of applications suspected of containing false or inaccurate information is still being determined. Adams said county detectives have been in contact with at least two other counties where similar applications are being investigated.

“We understand that there’s similar … registration applications that have been received. But beyond that, I am not commenting on where this is leading at this point,” Adams said.

The Pennsylvania Department of State, which oversees elections at the state level, said in a statement that it is aware of the fraud allegations raised by Lancaster County officials and is offering support for the investigation.

“The Department applauds the efforts of the election staff for their diligent work in spotting this potential fraud and bringing it to the attention of law enforcement. The Department guidance in cases like this is for counties to immediately contact law enforcement, which is exactly what Lancaster County officials did,” the statement said.

The applications in question were delivered to the Lancaster County elections office in a batch of about 2,500 and were flagged by workers there who noticed that numerous applications appeared to have the same handwriting and were filled out on the same day. Some of the applications were for previously registered voters and the signatures on the documents did not match those the county has on file, Adams said. 

Lancaster County detectives began investigating and found applications with incorrect addresses, fake names, false personal identifying information and names that did not match the Social Security numbers provided, Adams said. 

In some cases, applications contained correct personal identification information, such as the correct address, correct phone number, date of birth, driver’s license number and Social Security number, but the individuals listed on the applications informed detectives that they did not request the form, they did not complete the form and verified that the signature on the form was not theirs,” Adams said in a news conference Friday morning in Lancaster.

“At this point, it is believed that the fraudulent voter registrations are connected to large-scale canvassing operations for voter registrations that date back to June,” Adams said, adding that the majority of the applications in question are dated Aug. 15 and later.

While some of the applications in the batch of 2,500 were determined to be legitimate, Adams said the district attorney’s office investigation so far has determined that about 60% are fraudulent. 

“We do have more to do today, and my understanding is that voter registration is still going through the box of 2,500 but should be completed sometime here today,” Adams, a Republican elected in 2019, said.

Forgery of a registration application is a third-degree felony punishable by up to seven years in prison and a fine of up to $15,000. Violations of the Election Code carry penalties including a 10-year suspension of the right to vote, Adams said.

Democratic Lancaster County Commissioner Alice Yoder urged residents not to be deterred from voting, saying that all registration applications aside from those identified as fraudulent will be processed and entered into the Pennsylvania Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors.

The county had 365,210 registered voters at the close of business on Thursday, a record surpassing that set in 2020 by about 11,000.

The investigation follows scrutiny from voting rights groups, the Pennsylvania Department of State, and local media after the Lancaster County elections office rejected voter registration applications from college students because they were registered in another state or did not have a Pennsylvania driver’s license. 

The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania said the county violated federal law by removing the registration of one student because it happened within 90 days before the election.

Pennsylvania Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt sent a letter to the Lancaster County commissioners informing them that county officials had incorrectly claimed that people qualified to vote in the county could not register until they had canceled their registration in another state. Anyone who is at least 18 years old, has been a citizen for at least a month and has lived in the district where they intend to vote for 30 days may register to vote in Pennsylvania, Schmidt said.

“Students attending a college or university in Pennsylvania are permitted to register in Pennsylvania if these criteria are met,” Schmidt said.

Republican Commissioner Josh Parsons accused Schmidt and media outlets of attacking election workers with “absurd” false allegations.

“We quickly debunked these allegations, both in public meetings and in communicating with the Department of State. All three commissioners are in unanimous and bipartisan agreement that our staff has acted properly,” Parsons said.

“Our staff adhere strictly to the law. They make sure that every legal voter can vote, but they do not cut corners on election security,” he said.

Officials urged residents who have questions or concerns that their personal information may have been misused to contact the Lancaster County district attorney’s office and check their voter registration on the Department of State website.

“As the county’s efforts show, multiple safeguards exist to ensure the integrity of our elections, and Pennsylvanians can have confidence that this November’s election will be safe, secure, free, and fair,” the Department of State said in its statement.

Lancaster County, in the south central part of Pennsylvania, has been a historically Republican stronghold, with former President Donald Trump carrying the county by 20 points over Hillary Clinton in 2016 and by 16 points over President Joe Biden in 2020. With Lancaster city at its heart, Democrats have made inroads in recent years capturing two state House seats and Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro losing the county by only 1 point in his successful 2022 campaign.