After visit to Arizona election audit, state lawmaker calls for similar audit in Pennsylvania
WGAL News 8
WGAL News 8
WGAL News 8
After a trip to visit the audit of 2020 election results in Arizona, a state lawmaker from the Susquehanna Valley says he'd like to see a similar move in Pennsylvania.
Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Adams/Cumberland/Franklin/York) was a primary supporter of former President Donald Trump's challenges to Joe Biden's win in Pennsylvania, and he's pushing for a forensic audit of votes.
"I'm convinced it needs to happen here," Mastriano said.
He toured the audit on Wednesday, along with Sen. Cris Dush (R-Jefferson) and Rep. Rob Kauffman (R-Franklin).
He said the trip wasn't paid for by taxpayers and took to Facebook Live on Thursday to discuss the visit.
"They have microscopes and lights. A camera takes a picture at an angle so you can see if the spots that are filled in were by human or by machine," he said.
The audit was authorized by Arizona lawmakers and is being conducted by a private company. The operation has come under criticism from local and state officials in Arizona over concerns about partisanship and security.
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Attorney General Josh Shapiro blasted the lawmakers' trip. Wolf said the group was chasing conspiracy theories on a settled presidential race.
Mastriano maintains an audit in Pennsylvania would be nonpartisan and transparent.
"Should an audit happen in Pennsylvania, the Arizona model is the one," he said.
Sen. Dave Argall (R-Berks/Schuylkill), the chair of the Senate State Government Committee, released the following statement on Friday:
"I support the call for an election audit, in order to answer any lingering questions that still remain about the fairness of the 2020 elections in Pennsylvania. This is the best path forward to address the legitimate concerns of the large majority of my constituents who voted to re-elect President Trump, as well as all Pennsylvanians.
"This is just one of many election reform efforts which I hope to see approved here in the next few weeks."
Argall's counterpart in the House, Rep. Seth Grove (R-York), tweeted Thursday that the chamber wouldn't be moving forward with any audits of previous elections.