Former President Donald Trump on Sunday repeated his false claim that officials in Lancaster County in Pennsylvania found 2,600 fake ballots written by the same person.
Trump referred to a review of 2,500 voter registration applications flagged for potential fraud in Lancaster County. Preliminary findings show that detectives identified hundreds of fraudulent applications and hundreds more that could not be verified.
The application is connected to a large canvassing effort to register voters ahead of 2024 electionthe official said. As of Monday, Nov. 4, no suspects have been identified.
Voter registration forms are not the same as ballots and the forms are identified before they are processed, officials said.
Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed that voter registration applications are ballots because he says they are evidence of widespread voter fraud in key battleground states.
At least six counties in Pennsylvania have announced investigations into possible fraudulent voter registration or ballot applications.
CBS News election law contributor David Becker told CBS News Philadelphia that this shows the vetting system in the Commonwealth is being used, and there are “checks and balances to make sure there is no widespread fraud.”
“Election officials were diligent. They found some voter registration forms that didn’t appear to be valid. They marked them. Some were valid … others were not processed. Becker said.
Here’s what we know about the investigation.
Kab. Lancaster
Officials said about 2,500 voter registration applications were identified as potentially fraudulent due to similar handwriting on multiple applications, same-day submissions, and suspicious signatures. From that figure, officials said more than 400 applications were fraudulent.
DA Heather Adams reported that some of the forms were falsified or had false information. Commissioner Ray D’Agostino said 57% of flagged applications have been verified, with 17% confirmed as fraudulent, and 26% still under review, mostly suspected fraud.
York County
The DA’s office is investigating a quarter of the 3,087 suspicious voter registration forms. The York County Board of Elections said so far, 47% have been found to be valid, 29% have incomplete information, and 24% are still under investigation. Of these, 85% were duplicate requests.
York County Chief Clerk Greg Monskie told CBS News Monday that the forms were submitted by Field + Media Corps, an Arizona-based voting firm, and that the forms were all received in one batch.
News outlet Votebeat previously reported Monskie said Field + Media Corps had submitted forms to the campaign of Everybody Votes, a national voter registration organization.
The Everybody Votes campaign told CBS News on Friday that it “has not been contacted by officials in Lancaster, York, or Monroe counties about the ongoing investigation and has no additional information about the forms. Our partners are working hard to ensure all forms are collected. Comply with all rules.” and regulations.”
Monroe County
Monroe County DA Mike Mancuso said the County Board of Elections identified 30 voter registration and ballot request forms as “irregular.”
The DA’s office is investigating the ballot because it was not authorized by the person named by the applicant. In one case, the named applicant died, he said. Some forms have been traced to specific people, he said.
Mancuso said 21 forms were submitted by Lancaster-based subsidiary Field + Media Corps. Of these, 16 have been found to be fraudulent, he said on Nov. 2.
Cambria County
Cambria County Commissioner Scott Hunt said 21 of the voter registration requests were considered fraudulent because information like social security numbers or addresses were inconsistent, and people whose names were not responding to mail sent automatically by the system.
When no one responded, investigators​​​​went to the address listed on the form and were told that the person named did not live there, or had not sent the form, he said.
Kab. Lehigh
The Lehigh County District Attorney’s Office said it is investigating a suspicious voter registration application.
DA Gavin Holihan told CBS News that about 40% of applications received by the deadline are invalid, and that number is expected to increase.
The district received between 2,500 and 3,000, he said. About 1,500 from one organization, local media reported.
Berks County
The Pennsylvania AG Michelle Henry said Berks County was among the counties where there have been “apparent attempts to submit fraudulent voter registration forms.”
County officials have flagged about 1,300 registrations as suspicious, according to a local report from WFMZ-TV.
“I want to be clear, this is a voter registration form — a person’s application to vote,” District Attorney John Adams said Friday in a phone interview with the Daily Voice. “This is not a ballot.”
