Only 17% of the approximately 2,500 voter registration applications reviewed were fraudulent, Lancaster County officials say

Only 17% of the approximately 2,500 voter registration applications reviewed by the Lancaster County district attorney have so far been found to be fraudulent, county officials said Monday. Another 26% are still being reviewed and 57% have been verified as legitimate applications.

Lancaster County announced last month that it was reviewing two batches of voter registration applications that were submitted shortly before the state's voter registration deadline and showed signs of fraud.

In many ways, the county's announced investigation proved that the system's fraud controls were working. But it has still led to misinformation about Pennsylvania's election. Former President Donald Trump has repeatedly falsely claimed that the applications were actually fraudulent ballots.

During a rally over the weekend, he repeated that claim, claiming the county found “2,600 ballots all cast by the same hand.”

Ann Yoder, a Democrat on the Lancaster Board of Elections, criticized Trump for the mischaracterization during Monday's meeting.

“There is no reason to believe that the election is not safe and secure,” she said.

Board Chairman Josh Parsons, a Republican, jumped to Trump's defense, arguing it was easy to make a mistake and call voter registration applications ballots.

Law enforcement has investigated fraudulent voter registration forms in Berks, Lancaster, Monroe and York counties. According to Votebeat, at least some of those forms have been linked to Field+Media Corps, an Arizona-based company that law enforcement in that state has also been investigating over incorrect forms.

During Monday's Board of Elections meeting, Commissioner Ray D'Agostino, a Republican, presented data provided by the local prosecutor's office. He noted that the number of fraudulent claims could change if the final 26% of ballots were verified.

But the announcement shows that the scale of the bad forms is far smaller than Trump and his allies have portrayed — in the hundreds rather than thousands.

Mesa, Arizona-based Field+Media Corps, which runs voter registration and outreach programs, is led by Francisco Heredia, a local councilman and longtime Arizona voter activist.

The irregularities included voters registering the names of deceased people and potentially hundreds of duplicate registrations.

In a Facebook post last Tuesday, the Monroe County District Attorney's Office wrote that 30 forms that Field+Media Corps “was responsible for submitting,” including absentee ballot applications, “were fraudulent because they were not submitted by the individuals named as applicants.” have been authorized.” .”

District Attorney Mike Mancuso wrote in the post, “In at least one example, the named applicant is actually deceased.” He also said that several of the forms he described as fraudulent had been traced back to a specific individual.

Votebeat reported that York County Chief Clerk Greg Monskie confirmed that the forms the county is investigating were submitted by Field+Media Corps.

In a press release Wednesday, the district said 3,087 applications were being reviewed, according to Votebeat.

The press release goes on to say that Field+Media Corps submitted the forms on behalf of the Everybody Votes campaign, a national nonprofit voter registration organization.

Everybody Votes, also known as the Voter Registration Project, is a voter mobilization group that targets African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, low-income and other voter groups likely to lean left of center, according to the watchdog group Influence Watch. The organization identifies groups associated with political issues.

According to Arizona Central, Heredia of Mesa is a registered Democrat that includes content from the Arizona Republic and other media outlets in the state.

In a statement, the Everybody Votes campaign said it had not been contacted by officials in Lancaster, York or Monroe counties about an ongoing investigation and had no information about the forms in question.

“If contacted, we intend to work with our partners and election officials to quickly resolve any discrepancies and ensure that all eligible registrants have the opportunity to vote next week,” the campaign statement said.