Pennsylvania Republicans Push For Arizona-Style Election Audit

Pennslyvania state Sen. Cris Dush (R), chair of the Intergovernmental Operations Committee, is leading the push for an audit of the state’s 2020 election results.

“We will follow the advice of counsel and long-standing Senate precedent in determining whether and when subpoenas are necessary,” said Dush during a Thursday hearing.

Dush offered few details about when he will seek subpoenas for election materials, he did say that he wants to be ready to “utilize meaningfully any information” he receives from future subpoenas. “The power to issue a subpoena isn’t unlimited, and we must ensure sound legal footing before we proceed down that path,” he said. “In addition, we must be ready, willing and able to actually review and utilize meaningfully any information that we receive in response to our subpoenas.”

State Sen. Anthony H. Williams, a Democrat on the Intergovernmental Operations Committee, responded to Dush’s audit push. “Here we sit in September 2021, still giving oxygen to the big lie,” Williams said. “The goal is simply to stoke distrust and division. But not just in our political families but across this country.”

Dush, however, claims that this audit push is not about former President Donald Trump, or even the results of the 2020 election. “Today’s hearing and the investigation we are conducting in this committee are not about President Trump as some reports in the news have implied,” Dush said. “This investigation is not about overturning the results of any election, as some would suggest. That horse is out of the barn, as far as this investigation is concerned.”

Article by Elizabeth Letsou