HARRISBURG, Pa. — Gov. Tom Wolf on Thursday said it is a “disgrace to democracy” that a Republican state lawmaker is trying to launch what he calls a “forensic investigation” of Pennsylvania’s 2020 presidential election, similar to what is happening in Arizona.
Wolf, a Democrat, said on Twitter that the “sham election audit” being attempted by Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano is also a “profound waste of time and taxpayer money,” in addition to being a disgrace.
Wolf’s administration has discouraged counties from cooperating, saying they risk decertifying their voting machines and costing taxpayers millions of dollars.
Also Thursday, Democratic state senators wrote to officials in Philadelphia and two counties to tell them that they should not comply with Mastriano’s requests.
The four Democratic members of the committee chaired by Mastriano said in the letter that elections are not in the purview of the Intergovernmental Operations Committee.
Mastriano on Wednesday issued letters to Philadelphia and York and Tioga counties, giving officials there a sweeping request for access to documents and equipment, with the threat of subpoenas for holdouts who do not respond affirmatively by July’s end.
Trump has persistently claimed the 2020 election was rigged against him, and pressured Republican lawmakers in states he lost narrowly to conduct an audit, as is happening in Arizona.
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