HARRISBURG – State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-33) is calling for a full and independent audit of the presidential vote count in Pennsylvania.
Election results should not be certified, added Mastriano, until a final report from the bipartisan, legislative-led audit of the 2020 general election is finalized. Mastriano serves as a member of the Senate State Government Committee, which oversees statewide elections and electoral reform.
“The general assembly must perform its own election audit to restore confidence that every eligible vote is counted,” said Mastriano, who has voiced election integrity concerns to State Department Secretary Kathy Boockvar multiple times over the past year.
“Sadly, voter confidence is at an all-time low,” continued Mastriano. “We need to be able to tell our constituents that every legal vote counted.”
Earlier this week, Senator John DiSanto, chair of the Senate State Government Committee, announced that the panel intended to review the election process.
Mastriano recently joined Senators Michele Brooks and Scott Hutchinson as a prime sponsor of legislation that would require a fair ballot recount. The bill’s memo states, “we will be introducing legislation requiring the PA Department of State to implement a vote recount in any counties where state law was broken, regardless of the (department’s) instructions, as well as in any precinct where questionable actions were demonstrated.”
The memo also cites the Pennsylvania Supreme Court intrusion into the election process by expanding Act 77 of 2019 beyond the legislative and textual intent.
Earlier this year, Mastriano questioned Secretary Boockvar on four separate occasions to inquire what steps she and the State Department were taking to ensure a fair and secure election. Hearing no strategy to cope with anticipated issues accompanying a historic election, Mastriano worked with Senators Ward, Stefano, and Pittman on an electoral reform proposal.
Mastriano has since called for the Secretary’s resignation in a letter stating “Secretary Boockvar has lost the confidence of Pennsylvanians in exercising their right to vote, my confidence, and the confidence of many of my peers.”
CONTACT: spitzer@pasen.gov.