Pennsylvania’s top elections official said Sunday that the 2020 Commonwealth election was “accurate” while saying Pennsyvlania is “not susceptible to any form of widespread voter fraud” — and he said officials are preparing with heightened security to counter threats as election day approaches.
“Time and time again, in many dozens of cases in 2020, each and every one of those cases confirmed that our elections were accurate and that we are not susceptible to any form of widespread voter fraud or anything like that,” said Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Al Schmidt Sunday on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
The issue of election integrity is high on the agenda in battleground Pennsylvania, where the Lancaster County district attorney spoke last week reported incidents of voter registration fraud among a group of approximately 2,500 ballots. Schmidt said the country has “directly” contacted his office for advice and is pursuing an investigation “responsibly.” And the top elections official said he is working with counties to provide the necessary resources “so that we have free, fair, secure elections in 2024, just like we had in 2020.”
Meanwhile, election officials are combating threats to election workers. Schmidt said officials in 2020 had to “try to figure out when threats were coming in,” as he outlined changes that have been implemented since then, including an election threats task force made up of federal, state and local law enforcement partners and election administration. He noted that open lines of communication and clear responsibilities have also made the Commonwealth better prepared.
“So that if any of the ugliness that we experienced in 2020 returns, everyone will be ready for it,” Schmidt said.
Schmidt vowed to certify the election results even if the winner is from the other political party, as did Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, who also appeared on “Face the Nation” on Sunday.
Fontes said the state’s safety and security protocols surrounding the tabulation of election results are sharply different from recent years.
“It’s definitely a lot different than 2020. In fact, I remember in 2018 our biggest safety threat was a rattlesnake in the parking lot of the Pinnacle Peak Precinct,” Fontes said. “So this is a radically different set of circumstances that we’re dealing with, but we are prepared and we will have safe elections.”
