Attempted voter registration fraud confirmed by PA State Department

A county in pivot battlefield of pennsylvania is investigating about 2,500 voter registration forms that have been flagged for potential fraud, the Pennsylvania Department of State confirmed to Fox News Digital on Friday.

The office confirmed it has been in contact with Lancaster County since last week after it reported receiving two separate batches of apparently fraudulent voter registration forms.

“Suspected fraudulent voter registration forms were submitted to the Office of the Board of Elections in two batches at or near the filing deadline,” the board said in a statement Friday.

Both the local district attorney’s office and the Lancaster County Board of Elections are working to review and verify the applications.

DOJ ONCE APPROVED LAW AT YOUNGKIN VOTER CENTER VOTER CULLING ORDER FEDS NOW FOR BLOCK

In a statement Friday, county election officials said the concerns were first noticed “during the normal staff process of reviewing and entering applications into a Pennsylvania database, and law enforcement was alerted .

Forms marked as suspicious had either false names, duplicate handwriting, or unverifiable or incorrect identifying information, they added, prompting county election officials to immediately notify both the Pennsylvania Department of State and the state attorney general’s office and open a criminal investigation.

Speaking at a news conference Friday, Lancaster County officials called for calm and emphasized that the election system did what it was supposed to do to prevent fraud. The requests were not limited to one party, but were collected in different places in the county.

“The truth is, we have withheld it,” Lancaster County Commissioner Ray D’Agostino, a Republican who chairs the county’s board of elections, told reporters. “It’s not fair. It’s illegal. It’s immoral. We found it and we’re going to deal with it.”

An election worker flattens ballots during the 2024 Pennsylvania primary election at the Philadelphia City Election Depository in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., Tuesday, April 23, 2024. The path to a House majority will go through at least four Pennsylvania districts, including those of Democrat Susan Wild and Republican Scott Perry, who will soon learn the identities of their November opponents. (Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Ultimately, he said, “the people of Lancaster County can have confidence in the way we conduct our elections.”

The Pennsylvania Department of State on Friday applauded Lancaster County “for their diligent work in identifying this potential fraud and bringing it to the attention of law enforcement.”

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“As the county’s efforts show, there are several safeguards in place to ensure the integrity of our elections, and Pennsylvanians can trust that the November election will be safe, secure, free and fair,” the office told Fox News.

This is breaking news. Stay tuned for more updates.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 election campaign, exclusive interviews and more at Fox News Digital’s election hub.