LANCASTER (AP) – A criminal investigation is underway after election workers in Lancaster County flagged about 2,500 voter registration forms for potential fraud. The forms arrived at the Lancaster County elections office shortly before the state’s deadline to register and were apparently part of a larger effort to sign people up. Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams said some had false names, suspicious handwriting, questionable signatures, incorrect addresses or other problematic details. Two other unnamed counties received similar applications and were notified to check into them. She said election workers “noticed that numerous applications” had similarities, but officials did not indicate the volume of suspicious applications or say how many applications had already been fully investigated. She added, “It appears to be an organized effort at this point. But of course, it’s an ongoing investigation. And we’ll be looking into who exactly participated in it and how far up it goes.” The set of applications has been segregated during the investigation, preventing ballots from being sent to or cast by people until they are deemed valid. PA’s 19 electoral votes are being fought over as polls indicate the presidential contest in the state is a close race.
