It's been more than 10 months since former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 election to now-President Joe Biden.
Countless bumbling hearings, dozens of court cases, a deadly failed insurrection, and one inauguration later, Trump and his supporters continue to scrounge for the smoking gun that will vindicate the fantasy that the election was "stolen" from him by Democrats engaging in widespread voter fraud.
A key target of these election lies was the bellwether state of Pennsylvania, where Biden won by more than 80 thousand votes. Though confirmation of Trump's fraud claims during his lame duck period never materialized, Republican legislators there are still seeking to force a partisan audit, much like the one in Maricopa County, Arizona.
Earlier this month, the Public Interest Legal Foundation released a report claiming there were more than 400 thousand votes unaccounted for in the state. This means that these mail ballots were sent to voters, but never returned. By no means is it evidence that these votes were counted.
In a blistering statement to the conservative Daily Signal, Veronica Degraffenreid—Pennsylvania's acting Secretary of State, said:
"[The foundation's] 'report' is another attempt to undermine confidence in our elections. To suggest that large numbers of ballots 'went missing' is disingenuous and misleading."
Degraffenreid's comments come as Republicans on the state's Senate Intergovernmental Affairs Committee advance a partisan "audit" of the state's votes, beginning with the subpoenas of voters' private information.
The disinformation surrounding Pennsylvania's 2020 election results is getting out of hand.
What\u2019s happening in Pennsylvania right now isn\u2019t audit.\n\nIt\u2019s a handful of Republican Senators using taxpayer dollars to undermine our democracy \u2014 all because Donald Trump told them to.pic.twitter.com/vUr9PP4tlv— Josh Shapiro (@Josh Shapiro) 1631469773
CBS News: Sidney Powell tells court "no reasonable person" would take her voter fraud claims as fact. \n\nPAGOP: We\u2019d like to give you the deeply personal information of 7M Pennsylvania voters to thrice audit an election Fox News called for Joe Biden 10 months ago.https://twitter.com/pa_spotlight/status/1438561204532768772\u00a0\u2026— John Fetterman (@John Fetterman) 1631826822
This could happen in any State! Bad enough we get criminals trying to call and steal our information! Now the GOP wants to just give it away! Maybe that is exactly what they want! Scare voters and keep them from voting!https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2021/09/15/pennsylvania-election-audit-gets-off-to-wild-start-as-gop-subpoenas-personal-details-on-every-voter-in-state/\u00a0\u2026— Peggy (@Peggy) 1631843443
Voter Suppression in Pennsylvania #CorruptGOP now wants to do fake audit it attack on voters. they are using subpoena to get info from those who voted they want, name, address, last 4 of Soc Sec, email, & how we voted. no protection of ID info. so identity theft big risk to all— They said it couldn't happen here (@They said it couldn't happen here) 1631846956
This is a violation of personal data/security. Pennsylvania mail-in ballots include a secrecy envelope for an extra layer of privacy and security. \n\nI wouldn\u2019t approve of this if it were being done by a verifiably non-partisan group, let alone by this ultra-partisan\n#PAGOPhttps://twitter.com/JRubinBlogger/status/1438662628075835400\u00a0\u2026— \u2694CMDR Paylor(CP) - Actions Have Consequences \u2694 (@\u2694CMDR Paylor(CP) - Actions Have Consequences \u2694) 1631841116
Unknown company wants Pennsylvania to give them voters information to check validation (?) of all ballots. Everyone should tell legislatures to take a hike. Everyone has a right to demand to keep private information private. Votes were certified. #NoMoreFakeAudits— Rosemary Potter (@Rosemary Potter) 1631843585
There are growing fears this could become the new normal for any election that doesn't result in a GOP victory.
Is this going to be our future now, every time someone loses an election? When will people say \u201cENOUGH?\u201dhttps://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1437068493631852562\u00a0\u2026— Dave Wenning (@Dave Wenning) 1631463555
STILL up to NO goodhttps://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1437068493631852562\u00a0\u2026— Dont Stop Fighting 4 Democracy #VoteBlue2022 \ud83c\udf0a\ud83d\udc99 (@Dont Stop Fighting 4 Democracy #VoteBlue2022 \ud83c\udf0a\ud83d\udc99) 1631462332
Here we go again. More GQO asinine antics.https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1437068493631852562\u00a0\u2026— Kelly (@Kelly) 1631461145
Democrats have vowed to mount legal challenges against the subpoenas of private voter information.
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