A Pennsylvania lawmaker closely aligned with Donald Trump is pursuing the best known strategy to raise his profile in MAGA world: call for an audit of the 2020 presidential election (Joe Biden won). But the Pennsylvania Department of State has resisted the effort, calling it a “sham” that violates public trust.
On Wednesday, State Sen. Doug Mastriano, a Republican who has pushed the Big Lie and attended the Washington D.C. rally that preceded the January 6th storming of the U.S. Capitol, announced that he was seeking three counties’ elections materials – including ballots – for a “forensic investigation.” Democrats in the state say he doesn’t have the authority – or credibility – to conduct such an investigation, which they call “redundant.”
Mastriano, whose political ambitions include the governor’s office, visited Arizona’s scandal-plagued audit last month. He wants to replicate that highly partisan effort in Pennsylvania.
More from NBC News:
Mastriano, in his capacity as chair of the state Senate’s Intergovernmental Operations Committee, is requesting a long list of items — including election equipment, software, copies of hard drives and phone SIM cards, wireless router logs and more, according to a copy of the letter he sent to York County published by the Pennsylvania Capital-Star. He also asked for samples of the paper used to create ballots.
The Pennsylvania Department of State said counties should not comply with Mastriano’s request, calling it a “sham” that would “violate the trust of their voters and ignore their statutory duty to protect the chain of custody of their ballots and voting equipment,” according to a statement.
The department warned counties they would also be on the hook for replacing any voting equipment they hand over to Mastriano, saying, “If they turn over voting machines or scanners, they should be prepared to replace that brand-new, expensive equipment before any future elections. When the Secretary certifies voting systems, she certifies that they can be secured from outside intrusion. Such a ‘forensic’ exercise as that described by the senator would nullify that assurance.”
In Arizona, voting machines turned over to auditors have to be replaced, since they were not properly handled by the firm running the review.
Yesterday, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro released a statement criticizing Mastriano’s effort, saying “although two legal audits have already been completed in Pennsylvania, Senator Mastriano is now requesting a laundry list of confidential and privileged information from three Pennsylvania counties in continued efforts to pay homage to former President Trump and further spread misinformation about our elections.”
Shapiro has also urged the counties to ignore Mastriano’s request, which seeks voluntary participation.
“Right now this information is being requested voluntarily but should subpoenas be issued, you can expect our office to do everything to protect the Commonwealth, its voters and the free, fair election that was held in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro, a Democrat, added.
CNN speculates on Mastriano’s likely motive:
For the Pennsylvania lawmaker, continuing his post-election skepticism with an audit push serves a clear political purpose. He has been eying a bid for governor, even going so far as to say Trump asked him to run and pledged to campaign for him.