Pennsylvania Authorities Probe Thousands of Potentially Fraudulent Voter Registration Applications

Officials in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, revealed Friday they have identified up to 2,500 potentially fraudulent voter registration applications submitted near the voter registration deadline as part of a “large-scale” paid canvassing initiative.

Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams shared with reporters that investigations have expanded to at least two other Pennsylvania counties, according to a report by local NBC affiliate WGAL-TV.

Adams explained that the Lancaster County Board of Elections notified her on Tuesday about concerns with a batch of 2,500 registration applications delivered to their office.

“Staff noticed that numerous applications appeared to have the same handwriting, were filled out on the same day with unknown signatures, and some belonged to previously registered voters where the signatures on file did not match the signatures on the application,” Adams elaborated.

Lancaster County investigators “immediately found applications that were indeed fraudulent,” she added.

The signs of fraud, Adams noted, included incorrect addresses, false personal identification details, and fictitious names. Some applications also had names that did not correspond with the Social Security information provided.

In certain instances, the application details appeared accurate, yet upon contacting those listed, investigators discovered they had neither requested nor completed the registration form. Residents confirmed that the signatures on the applications were not theirs, Adams remarked.

Adams further indicated that these applications stemmed from a “large-scale canvassing operation” dating back to June.

So far, about 60 percent of the applications examined from this batch have been deemed fraudulent, Adams reported, with the investigation still ongoing.

“We are aware of at least two other counties that received similar applications that are currently being investigated,” she said. However, Adams declined to name the counties, stating that their officials would address the issue separately.

She concluded, “At this point, we have confirmed violations of our crimes code as well as our elections code. We are fully utilizing our resources to ensure we can accurately verify these applications swiftly. If needed, we will seek additional help from local police departments.”

Lancaster County Commissioner Ray D’Agostino, responding to questions about whether the canvassing effort favored a particular political party, said, “I can say … it does not appear at this point. It doesn’t seem that it’s any one party. In some cases, they’re registering in different parties.”

Adams added, “For the general election, it really wouldn’t matter. What we are concerned about is the fact that if there are fraudulent voters … If there are voters on the books that shouldn’t be, it increases the chance that we’re going to have voter fraud.”

Scott Presler, a conservative activist whose organization Early Vote Action has been registering voters in Pennsylvania, clarified on social media platform X that his group had no involvement.

“Our staff turn in voter registration forms as we register voters,” he wrote, explaining they didn’t retain applications with dates going back to the summer, unlike the Lancaster batch now under investigation.

“The most forms we’ve ever turned in at one time was 400 in Luzerne County,” Presler noted.

In a Friday statement, the Pennsylvania Department of State confirmed that Lancaster County officials acted appropriately in handling the suspected fraudulent registrations.

“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 statement read.

“The Department guidance in cases like this is for counties to immediately contact law enforcement, which is exactly what Lancaster County officials did.”

Lancaster County Commissioner Alice Yoder advised voters to verify their registration status, polling place, and mail ballot application status on the Department of State website, as reported by WGAL.

“And we encourage everyone to do that,” she added.