Politics & Government

Bucks Senator Calls For Audit Of 2020 Election

State Sen. Bob Mensch wants Pennsylvania to perform an audit of ballots canvassed in the 2020 general election.

The legislation from State Sen. Bob Mensch specifically targets mail-in ballots in the 2020 election.
The legislation from State Sen. Bob Mensch specifically targets mail-in ballots in the 2020 election. (Renee Schiavone/Patch)

HARRISBURG, PA — A Republican state lawmaker from Bucks County is calling on Pennsylvania's Auditor General to perform an audit of ballots canvassed in the 2020 general election.

Senate Bill 528 from State Sen. Bob Mensch would require an audit "to gather and look at county-level information related to mail-in ballots requested, mailed, returned, and certified, as well as relevant similar data related to provisional ballots." It would also examine any ballots that were mailed to incorrect voters, including those who did not request one, and the process of returning the ballots.

In 2019, the state's General Assembly passed Act 77 updating Pennsylvania's election code to allow for voting by mail. The election code was then amended in April 2020 to allow counties to begin pre-canvassing ballots, but not tally the results, beginning at 7 a.m. on Election Day.

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Despite the lack of any evidence of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, Mensch said the new provisions of the election code "involved some serious issues for many constituents."

“It is clear that the process of the election has led to many questions from our constituents, and that includes both Republicans and Democrats,” Mensch said. “Without criticizing the work of our county election officials, an audit to gather information related to the canvassing of ballots and the processes by which each county handled their elections would go a long way to re-establishing the trust of our citizens that the Pennsylvania election process is fair and accurate.”

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More than 2.6 million Pennsylvanians voted using a mail-in ballot in the 2020 election, according to data provided by the Pennsylvania Secretary of State's office.

In February, state officials announced the results of a "risk-limiting audit pilot" of the November 2020 presidential election, which confirmed that Joe Biden received more votes than Donald Trump. However, four counties — Greene, Beaver, Franklin and Lancaster — did not participate in the pilot.

Mensch represents Pennsylvania's 24th Senate District, which includes parts of Upper Bucks, Berks and Montgomery counties.

Meanwhile, State Sen. Steve Santarsiero (D-Bucks) has introduced legislation that would give Pennsylvania counties more time to count votes.

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