Trump ally in Pennsylvania raises 2020 election audit plan

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Following in the footsteps of Arizona’s Senate Republicans, Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled Senate is considering an investigation into how last year’s presidential election was conducted, a quest fueled by former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that fraud was behind his loss in the battleground state.

Any Senate-issued subpoenas for an Arizona-style “election audit” will face strident opposition from Democrats, legal questions and almost certainly challenges in Pennsylvania’s courts, as battles over election laws rage through swing states and Congress, spurred on by Trump’s falsehoods.

Senate Republicans have been mostly silent about their internal deliberations.

Sen. Doug Mastriano, a rising force in Pennsylvania’s ultra-conservative circles who has talked of his desire to bring an Arizona-style audit to Pennsylvania, led a private briefing Wednesday for Republican senators on his plan.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-pennsylvania-election-2020-elections-business-74f345eb650ee1dd5901dab771a9c142