Shapiro Slams Mastriano’s Election Audit Efforts

Biden won the state by more than 80,000 votes, but Republicans continue to lie about those results.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro has slammed state Sen. Doug Mastriano’s efforts to start an audit of Pennsylvania’s 2020 election results.

Shapiro called the effort a “sham” and a “partisan fishing expedition.”

Shapiro and officials from the state Department of State discouraged county election officials from participating in an election audit, saying they risk decertifying their voting machines and having to replace them, which would cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

“We know the truth,” Shapiro said. “Joe Biden won the election here in Pennsylvania by just over 80,000 votes.”

Gov. Tom Wolf also weighed in.

Six months after he was at the U.S. Capitol insurrection, one of our lawmakers is attempting to launch a sham election audit in PA.

This is a disgrace to democracy — not to mention a profound waste of time and taxpayer money.

I won't stand for it.https://t.co/lZoDTKPSKT

— Governor Josh Shapiro (@GovernorShapiro) July 8, 2021

Mastriano, a Republican from Franklin County, is a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump. He attended the Jan. 6 Trump rally that turned into an attack on the US Capitol. Mastriano has never been connected to events the occurred inside the Capitol.

Mastriano also plans to run for governor in 2022.

Mastriano has sent counties a 5-page letter requesting information about the 2020 general election and the 2021 primary election in Pennsylvania.

Two Republican-controlled counties — Tioga and York counties — confirmed receiving letters Wednesday, as did the Democratic bastion of Philadelphia, the state’s largest city. Officials in Allegheny County, where Pittsburgh is located, told KDKA they had not received a letter.

Other Senate Republicans have been quiet about the effort.

No county election board, prosecutor, or state official has raised a concern over any sort of widespread election fraud in November’s election. Each county and the state is required to review election results for accuracy and investigate any discrepancies before they certify the results.

“Pennsylvania counties, despite a convergence of difficult circumstances, ran a free, fair, and accurate election in 2020,” officials from the Department of State said in a written statement. “The majority of Pennsylvanians — and Americans — are satisfied with that truth.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.