In setback to Trump ally, Pennsylvania county will not comply with vote probe

July 13 (Reuters) - One of the three Pennsylvania counties asked to provide access to voting machines for a Republican lawmaker's probe of the 2020 election has decided it cannot comply due to a directive from the state's top election official, the county's solicitor told Reuters.

Tioga County's three Republican commissioners met on Tuesday and determined that acting Secretary of State Veronica Degraffenreid was within her authority in directing counties not to allow third parties to access their election equipment, according to the solicitor, Chris Gabriel.

The decision poses a potential hurdle for state Senator Doug Mastriano, a staunch ally of former President Donald Trump. The legislator announced his "forensic investigation" into the election last week, starting with Tioga, Philadelphia and York counties. read more He had no immediate comment on Tuesday.

Democratic President Joe Biden won Pennsylvania by about 81,000 votes, four years after Trump's victory there helped propel the Republican to the presidency. Republicans in Pennsylvania and other battleground states won by Biden have pursued audits of the November election, repeating Trump's baseless claims that widespread fraud cost him a second White House term.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/setback-trump-ally-pennsylvania-county-will-not-comply-with-vote-probe-2021-07-14/