Decision 2020

Authorities investigating voter registration ‘irregularities' in Pennsylvania

HARRISBURG — Authorities are investigating voter registration irregularities in Pennsylvania, Attorney General Bruce Beemer announced Friday.

Beemer released the following statement Friday afternoon:

"The Office of Attorney General and the Pennsylvania State Police are investigating a pattern of voter registration irregularities across the commonwealth. It is premature to reach any conclusion. At this stage of the investigation, there is no evidence of voter fraud. The investigation is ongoing."

Attorney General’s Office spokesman Chuck Ardo said the investigation started when a number of boards of elections, including from western Pennsylvania, contacted the office. Allegheny County spokeswoman Amie Downs told Channel 11 News that Allegheny County was not one of the boards of elections that contacted the Attorney General’s Office.

Ardo said the investigation is centered on a group called “FieldWorks,”a self-described Democratic grassroots organization, which released the following statement:

“The integrity of our electoral system is a foundation of our democracy, which is why FieldWorks has the most rigorous quality controls in the industry and zero tolerance for fraud. Our team works closely with state and local officials to ensure that we exceed the requirements of the law.
 
“FieldWorks proactively brings any problems with registration forms to the attention of local officials.
 
“Fieldworks is now working with county officials to provide them with information on our program and applications they are investigating. In keeping with our regular practice, we will work aggressively with authorities to seek the prosecution of anyone involved in wrongdoing.
 
“As this is an ongoing investigation, we'll decline further comment until the authorities conclude their efforts.”

Voter registration irregularities include having the name of the same voter appearing on multiple registration forms, the same name having different addresses and signatures that don't match other databases, Ardo said. He further clarified that voter registration fraud is different than voter fraud, which happens at the polls.

There is no indication that the voter registration irregularities will have an impact on Election Day, according to Ardo.

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