Republican Sen. Doug Mastriano said Tuesday that he believes Pennsylvania could have an audit of the 2020 presidential election by July, if the proposal receives appropriate backing.
Days earlier, a delegation from Pennsylvania including Mastriano visited an election review taking place in Arizona’s largest county. The Maricopa County audit has been taking place since April 23.
Mastriano, who was joined by Republican Sen. Cris Dush and Republican Rep. Rob Kauffman, told a pool reporter at the time that he backs a state audit such as the one being executed in Arizona.
“I’m not about overturning anything. I’m just trying to find out what went right, what went wrong, and how do we have better elections in the future?” he said.
That’s the same reasoning Arizona senators have put forth when explaining why they ordered the Maricopa County audit.
Mastriano said a state Senate committee could use its subpoena powers to issue a letter to a county or several counties stating its intention to audit votes from the 2020 presidential election.
The Republican senator didn’t elaborate on whether he believes legislative leaders in the state will back an audit.
Mastriano said last week that one poll showed roughly 40 percent of voters in Pennsylvania have concerns about the integrity of the election.
“For the sake of our … constitutional republic, and for the sake of people’s peace of mind, let’s just do it. Let’s pick a few counties and put people’s minds at rest,” he said.
Auditors hired by the Arizona Senate, led by Florida-based Cyber Ninjas, are reviewing the nearly 2.1 million ballots cast in Maricopa County during the 2020 presidential election. They have also examined tabulators and other machines used during the contest.
”They have microscopes and lights. A camera takes a picture at an angle so you can see if the spots that are filled in were by human or by machine,” Mastriano said of the audit process during a Facebook Live Thursday.
“Should an audit happen in Pennsylvania, the Arizona model is the one,” he said, noting that an audit in the state would be transparent and nonpartisan.
Sen. David Argall, a Republican who chairs the Pennsylvania Senate’s State Government Committee, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that he supports an audit of the 2020 presidential election.
“I support the call for an election audit, in order to answer any lingering questions that still remain about the fairness of the 2020 elections in Pennsylvania. This is the best path forward to address the legitimate concerns of the large majority of my constituents who voted to reelect President [Donald] Trump, as well as all Pennsylvanians,” said Argall.
“This is just one of many election reform efforts which I hope to see approved here in the next few weeks.”
