WASHINGTON, D.C. — Last week, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania tossed out a right-wing lawsuit brought by two members of the Lycoming County Patriots who challenged the results of the county’s 2020 general election over two years after it took place.
Despite the fact that former President Donald Trump prevailed over now-President Joe Biden by nearly 25,000 votes in Lycoming County’s 2020 general election, the voters who brought the lawsuit claimed that the county’s election results should be decertified upon findings of fraud and irregularities.
The Commonwealth Court’s ruling issued last Wednesday affirmed Lycoming County Judge Eric R. Linhardt’s previous dismissal of the legal challenge last summer on the grounds that it was both legally and procedurally “insufficient.”
In his July 2023 order, Linhardt rejected the right-wing petitioners’ request for an independent post-election investigation of the county’s 2020 election results — known as a “forensic audit” — in order to examine alleged “fraud and irregularities.” The Lycoming County Board of Elections previously declined to vote for a forensic audit — a move that prompted the petitioners to conduct their own investigation into the election results and subsequently file their legal action.
Advertisement
In support of their twice-rejected claims that the election was beset by fraud, the members of the conservative Lycoming County Patriots pointed to “potentially fraudulent” voter registrations — most of which were later canceled by the county’s election director. According to Linhardt’s 2023 decision, the board’s cancellation of the faulty registrations made it “apparent” that it did in fact perform its legal duty to investigate potential election fraud and irregularities.
The unanimous three-judge panel that issued last week’s order wrote that it affirms the dismissal of the suit “based on Judge Linhardt’s well-reasoned opinion.”
The panel also addressed the petitioners’ assertion that the Lycoming County Board of Elections failed to report “suspicious circumstances” to the county district attorney. In particular, the panel held that “it is within a board’s discretion to determine whether there is credible evidence of suspicious circumstances” and that the board has “no mandatory duty to report anything others may deem suspicious.”
As a hotbed of election denialism and conspiracy theories, Lycoming County has experienced numerous election-related tribulations over the last few years. Nearly 800 days after the 2020 election, Lycoming election officials performed a hand recount of nearly 60,000 ballots cast on Election Day — an undertaking that took nearly 560 hours of work, according to the New York Times.
Although the results of the recount had negligible effects on the county’s election results and revealed no evidence of fraud, Republicans in the county have continued to sow doubt and promulgate conspiracy theories surrounding the 2020 election.
Advertisement
Last week’s decision — unless appealed — officially puts an end to the Lycoming County Patriots’ legal challenge to Pennsylvania’s 2020 election results. As the 2024 presidential election nears, the Keystone State is seeing a proliferation of other election-related legal challenges from right-wing individuals and organizations concerning everything from drop boxes to automatic voter registration and more.
FILE – Powerball logo displayed on a phone screen and coins are seen in this illustration photo.
PHILADELPHIA – A Powerball ticket sold in Pennsylvania matched five numbers in Wednesday night’s drawing, winning $1 million, according to lottery officials.
What we know:
Advertisement
The Pennsylvania ticket was one of several nationwide that matched all five white balls. The ticket did not include the Power Play multiplier.
Because no one matched all six numbers, the Powerball jackpot continues to climb. The next drawing will feature an estimated $1.5 billion jackpot, with a cash option of $689.3 million.
Advertisement
Winning numbers (Dec. 17, 2025)
25 – 33 – 53 – 62 – 66
Powerball: 17
Power Play: 4x
The Pennsylvania Lottery has not yet announced where the winning ticket was sold.
What’s next:
Advertisement
The next Powerball drawing takes place Saturday night, Dec. 20. The estimated jackpot is an astounding $1.5 billion.
The Source: This article is based on official Powerball drawing results.
More than $22 million in “Money Match” checks were mailed to nearly 100,000 Pennsylvanians, the treasury said.
In a news release on Thursday, the Pennsylvania Treasury said people should be on the lookout for the checks, which are part of the Pennsylvania Money Match program. Treasurer Stacy Garrity said to cash or deposit the checks “promptly.”
The first Pennsylvania Money Match checks, totaling more than $1.7 million, are now on the way to Pennsylvanians’ mailboxes. Pennsylvania Money Match is a new program that allows Treasury to return certain unclaimed property to rightful owners automatically, which was approved unanimously by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor last year.
Advertisement
SC
“I want Pennsylvanians to know that this is a real check, it is real money, and it belongs to them,” Garrity said in the news release. “And as always, I still encourage everyone to regularly search for unclaimed property online, as many claims will not qualify for the Money Match process.”
With the mailing of the year’s last batch of checks, more than $50 million will have been returned automatically to Pennsylvanians.
What are Money Match checks?
The program allows the state treasury to automatically return unclaimed property valued up to $500 owned by a single individual. Before the program was created in 2024, residents themselves had to seek out unclaimed property.
“I’m thrilled to continue this program as we work hard to get more money back to its rightful owners,” Garrity said in the news release.
Advertisement
However, if the property has multiple owners or is valued higher than $500, Pennsylvanians still need to file a claim.
What is unclaimed property?
Unclaimed property includes dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten stocks, rebates and insurance policies, among other things. It can also include the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes.
According to the state treasury, more than one in 10 Pennsylvanians is owed some of the $5 billion in unclaimed property in the treasury’s care, and the average value of a claim is more than $1,000.
Unclaimed property scam
On its website, the state treasury has a warning about scammers using text messages to target potential unclaimed property claimants.
The department “never reaches out to people in regard to any program, including unclaimed property, via unsolicited text messages.”
A special weather statement was issued by the National Weather Service on Friday at 10:06 a.m. until 1 p.m. for Warren, McKean, Elk, Cameron, Clearfield, Cambria and Somerset counties.
“Temperatures will drop below the freezing mark through midday with rain showers quickly changing to snow showers. Blustery winds may dry off roads and other paved surfaces, but any residual water from previous rain or melting snow could freeze up and result in slick spots through the afternoon,” explains the weather service.
