Pennsylvania Republicans Lay Out Legislation to Create New Bureau of Election Audits

After the chaos that ensued during and after the 2020 presidential election, Pennsylvania Republicans want to create a new Bureau of Election Audits to confirm results of every election and check operations, systems and processes at least every five years. Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler laid out the legislation during a hearing in the General […]

  • by:
  • 03/02/2023

After the chaos that ensued during and after the 2020 presidential election, Pennsylvania Republicans want to create a new Bureau of Election Audits to confirm results of every election and check operations, systems and processes at least every five years. Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler laid out the legislation during a hearing in the General […]

ad-image

After the chaos that ensued during and after the 2020 presidential election, Pennsylvania Republicans want to create a new Bureau of Election Audits to confirm results of every election and check operations, systems and processes at least every five years.

Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler laid out the legislation during a hearing in the General Assembly’s State Government Committee this week, arguing the current system of allowing county election offices to audit themselves is not good enough, Just the News reports

Local election officials “must be held to a standard of accountability,” Cutler said. “It’s not just how did you spend the money. We should not allow individuals in government to self-audit.”     

Pennsylvania law currently requires counties to review a random sample of at least 2 percent of ballots or 2,000 ballots, whichever number is fewer, to ensure accurate vote counts. 

In addition to the Bureau of Election Audits, Senate Republicans launched a forensic investigation into the 2020 election in September of 2021 that is currently underway. 

“This legislation is forward looking and sets in place the data collection permanently,” Cutler said. “It simply asks the data points we all found valuable be available for every election.” 

The legislation would establish the bureau under the Office of the Auditor General, and would require the auditor general to appoint an independent special auditor when the auditor general position is on the ballot. 

“The Auditor General shall conduct independent election audits in accordance with Generally Accepted Governmental Audit Standards and shall ensure that the audit methodology will verify the accuracy of the election and the accuracy of all election equipment used,” the bill reads. 

Committee members approved the bill on a vote of 15 to 9, with only one democrat voting in favor.

Image: by is licensed under
ADVERTISEMENT

Opinion

View All

Obama condemns 'far-right radicalism' at Polish conference ahead of nation's presidential election

He stressed that Europeans have to recognize that they can’t "simply rely on the United States for th...

JACK POSOBIEC and DR. TAYLOR MARSHALL: Did the Vatican choose an American Pope to chase US Dollars amid financial struggles?

"The church is growing in South America and Africa, but where the money is, the money’s in the world’...

CHRISTIANE EMERY: How the MAHA movement is leading a snack revolt in the food industry

Health-conscious conservatives are at the forefront of this shift, shaping household food choices wit...

NICOLE RUSSELL: Edan Alexander’s return is a reminder of Trump’s negotiating power

No American should be held hostage in a foreign country and wonder if the power of the United States ...