Pennsylvania investigating reports of fraudulent voter registration applications

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CBS News Live

CBS News Philadelphia Live

Former President Donald Trump on Sunday repeated a mendacious declare that officials successful Lancaster County successful Pennsylvania recovered 2,600 fraudulent ballots written by nan aforesaid person.

Trump is referencing a review of astir 2,500 elector registration applications flagged for imaginable fraud successful Lancaster County. Preliminary findings bespeak that detectives identified hundreds of fraudulent applications and hundreds much that they were incapable to verify.

The applications were connected to a ample canvassing effort to registry voters, officials said. As of Nov. 4, nary suspects person been identified.

Voter registration forms are not nan aforesaid arsenic ballots and nan forms were identified earlier processing, officials said.

Trump has many times and falsely alleged that nan elector registration applications were ballots arsenic he based on that it was impervious of wide elector fraud successful nan important battleground state.

At slightest six counties successful Pennsylvania person announced investigations into perchance fraudulent elector registration aliases mail-in ballot applications.

CBS News predetermination rule contributor David Becker told CBS News Philadelphia that this shows nan vetting strategy successful nan commonwealth is working, and that location are "checks and balances to guarantee location is nary wide fraud."

"The predetermination officials were diligent. They recovered immoderate elector registration forms that did not look right. They flagged them. Some of them were legitimate…others they did not process. So nary fraudulent voters are going to ballot arsenic a consequence of that," Becker said.

Here's what we cognize astir nan investigation.

Lancaster County

Officials said astir 2,500 elector registration applications were identified arsenic perchance fraudulent owed to identical handwriting connected immoderate applications, same-day submissions, and suspicious signatures. Of that figure, officials opportunity conscionable complete 400 of those applications were fraudulent.

DA Heather Adams reported immoderate forms had forged aliases mendacious information. Commissioner Ray D'Agostino said 57% of flagged applications were verified, pinch 17% confirmed arsenic fraudulent, and 26% are still nether review, mostly suspected arsenic being fraudulent.

York County

The DA's agency is investigating a 4th of 3,087 suspicious elector registration forms. The York County Board of Election said truthful far, 47% person been recovered to beryllium legitimate, 29% person incomplete information, and 24% stay nether investigation. Of those, 85% are copy requests.

York County Chief Clerk Greg Monskie told CBS News connected Friday that nan forms were submitted by Field + Media Corps, an Arizona based elector outreach firm, and that nan forms were each received successful 1 batch.

The news outlet Votebeat antecedently reported Monskie arsenic saying that Field + Media Corps had submitted nan forms connected behalf of nan Everybody Votes campaign, a nationalist elector registration organization.

The Everybody Votes run told CBS News connected Friday that it had "not been contacted by officials successful Lancaster, York, aliases Monroe counties astir immoderate ongoing investigations and person nary further accusation connected nan forms successful question. Our partners activity diligently to guarantee each forms collected comply pinch each rules and regulations."

Monroe County

Monroe County DA Mike Mancuso said the County Board of Elections identified 30 elector registration and mail-in ballot petition forms arsenic "irregular."

The DA's agency is investigating nan ballots arsenic they were not authorized by nan personification named arsenic nan applicant. In 1 case, a named applicant is dead, he said. Several forms person been traced to a circumstantial person, he said.

Mancuso said 21 forms were submitted by a Lancaster-based subsidiary of Field + Media Corps. Of those, 16 person been recovered to beryllium fraudulent, he said on Nov 2.

Cambria County

Cambria County president commissioner Scott Hunt said 21 elector registration requests were flagged arsenic fraudulent because accusation for illustration societal information numbers aliases addresses was inconsistent, and nan group named did not respond to letters sent automatically by nan system.

When nary 1 responded, investigators went to nan addresses listed connected nan forms and were told either that nan personification named did not unrecorded there, aliases did not taxable nan form, he said.

Lehigh County

The Lehigh County District Attorney's agency said it is investigating suspicious elector registration applications.

DA Gavin Holihan told CBS News that astir 40% of applications received astir nan deadline were invalid, and that number was apt to increase.

The region received betwixt 2,500 and 3,000, he said. Around 1,500 were from 1 organization, section media reported.

Berks County

The Pennsylvania AG Michelle Henry said Berks County was among nan counties wherever location had been "apparent attempts to taxable fraudulent elector registration forms."

County officials had flagged astir 1,300 registrations arsenic suspicious, according to section reporting from WFMZ-TV.

"I want to beryllium clear, these are elector registration forms — people's applications to vote," District Attorney John Adams reportedly said Friday successful a telephone telephone question and reply pinch section Pennsylvania news outlet Daily Voice. "These are not ballots."