3/1/2021

DRAFT

PA 2020
ELECTION
ISSUES
SUMMARY

Representative Ryan’s Summary

Matter of judicial and administrative re-write of election law:

Actions from the PA Supreme Court which undermined the controls inherent in Act
77 of 2019. The controls which were undermined include:

a. On September 17, 2020, unilaterally extended the deadline for mail-in ballots to
be received to three days after the election, mandated that ballots mailed without
a postmark would be presumed to be received, and allowed the use of drop boxes
for collection votes.
b. On October 23, 2020, upon a petition from the Secretary of the Commonwealth,
ruled that mail-in ballots need not authenticate signatures for mail-in ballots
thereby treating in-person and mail-in voters dissimilarly and eliminating a
critical safeguard against potential election crime

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Representative Ryan’s Summary

Actions and inactions by the Secretary of State which

undermined the consistency and controls of the election
process during the weeks preceding the General Election of
November 3, 2020.

Executive Summary, Performance Audit Report of the

Department of State, Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors
(SURE), prepared by the Department of the Auditor General,
dated December 13, 2019

Representative Ryan’s Summary

“DOS’ denial of access to critical documents and excessive redaction of

documentation resulted in DAG being unable to fully achieve three of the eight audit
objectives. Specifically, DAG was unable to accomplish the following: (1) Objective
1, the accuracy of the records maintained in SURE; (2) Objective 3, the review of
security protocols of the SURE system; and (3) Objective 6, review of the external
controls, methodology for external audits and external audits review process. This
sustained refusal to cooperate with our information requests was done without DOS
providing any plausible justification for their noncooperation. Accordingly, DAG was
unable to establish with any degree of reasonable assurance that the SURE system is
secure and that Pennsylvania voter registration records are complete, accurate, and in
compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and related guidelines.”
Source – Page 2, Executive Summary, Performance Audit Report of the Department of State, Statewide
Uniform Registry of Electors (SURE), prepared by the Department of the Auditor General, dated December
13, 2019

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Representative Ryan’s Summary

“We are very discouraged by management’s response to our draft findings. We were
quite surprised that DOS’ response indicates that it strongly disagrees with many of
our findings and mischaracterizes information that was provided, or not provided to
us in many instances, during the course of our audit. With its attempt to refute our
findings, DOS does not seem to understand that a primary objective of our audit was
to assess the accuracy of records maintained in the SURE system…..Also, while
DOS requested this audit, management does not seem to grasp that we cannot
properly conclude and satisfy the audit objectives in accordance with generally
accepted Government Auditing Standards without obtaining sufficient appropriate
evidence, which they refused to provide to us.”
Source – Page 3-4, Executive Summary, Performance Audit Report of the Department of State, Statewide
Uniform Registry of Electors (SURE), prepared by the Department of the Auditor General, dated December
13, 2019

Representative Ryan’s Summary

SCOPE LIMITATION AUDIT IMPLICATIONS

If the DoS were a publicly traded company, a limitation of scope

would cause the company to be listed as a deficient filer. This
means that the company would NOT receive an audit opinion,
would NOT be allowed to file it's annual report (10-K), and the
auditors would NOT be able to express an opinion on the
financial statements.

Should an election result be permitted to operate under less

scrutiny?

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ELECTION ISSUES IN THIS REPORT

• MORE VOTES COUNTED THAN VOTERS WHO VOTED

• RELIABILITY OF DOS DATA
• REACTIVATED VOTERS
• DELETED VOTERS
• DUPLICATE BALLOTS
• THIRD PARTY ACCESS
• DUPLICATE VOTERS

MORE VOTES COUNTED THAN

VOTERS WHO VOTED
Official Voter Records – SURE System

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VOTES COUNTED – DATA SOURCES

Sources:
https://www.electionreturns.pa.gov/
and
Official County Summary Results Reports
(64 of 67 Counties)

VOTERS WHO VOTED – DATA SOURCES

Sources:
https://www.pavoterservices.pa.gov/pages/purchasepafullvoterexport.aspx
and
Official County FVE files directly from the DOS Dated 12/14/2020

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DATA FILE DEFINITIONS

 Total Votes for President – Sum of all votes counted for Biden, Trump,
Jorgensen and all write in votes
 Total Ballots Cast – Total number of ballots cast in the county
 Over-Votes – Ballots cast with more than one selection for President
 Under-Votes – Ballots cast with no selection made for President
 Write-In Votes – Ballots cast with one write-in vote for President
 Total Voters SURE – Total number of voters in the FVE who voted in
the 2020 General Election 11/3/2020 (files updated 12/14/2020)
 Voter Deficit – Difference between the Total Ballots Cast
and Total Voters recorded as voting on 11/3/2020 in SURE

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N
TOTAL VOTES TOTAL OVER & TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL
O TOTAL
COUNTY 3 MAJOR VOTES FOR UNDER BALLOTS VOTERS VOTER
T WRITE IN
CANDIDATES PRESIDENT VOTES CAST SURE DEFICIT
E
DOS DATA COUNTY DATA FVE

CAMERON 2,434 6 2440 15 2455 2450 -5

SAMPLE COUNTY DATA - CAMERON

Cameron County has a voter deficit of 5 – meaning that there
were 5 more ballots cast than the number of voters in SURE FVE for
Cameron County as of 12/14/2020

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TIMELINESS OF SURE FVE RECORDS

 Secretary of State
certified the
election results on
11/24/20.

 SURE FVE Files used

for this analysis are
dated 12/14/2020,
20 days after the
certification

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INTERIM REPORT TOTALS AS OF 12-20-2020

• Report contains full data from 64 counties
• Write In Votes and Over/Undervotes were not
available for all counties. Updates pending.
• Data is not included for over/undervotes or total
ballots cast for the following counties: Clarion,
Crawford & Sullivan
• 24 of 67 Counties had vote totals that did not
match the Department of State Results

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INTERIM REPORT TOTALS AS OF 12-20-2020

Using the sources and data described in the previous slides,

there is a VOTER DEFICIT in Pennsylvania. 205,122 more votes
were counted than total number of voters who voted.

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VOTER SURPLUS
Some counties have more voters than votes
counted which is a normal variance. This is a result
of several issues including:
• Rejected Provisional Ballots
• Mail-In Ballots Received after 8pm on Election Day
• Naked Ballots
• Mail Ballots with no Signature
The expectation would be that every county would have some votes
that were not counted. In PA, only 18 counties reported a voter surplus.
Despite the fact that every county had some ballots that were rejected.

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NO EQUAL PROTECTION FOR PA VOTERS

TOTAL
TOTAL OVER & TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL
VOTES 3 TOTAL
COUNTY VOTES FOR UNDER BALLOTS VOTERS VOTER VOTER
MAJOR WRITE IN
PRESIDENT VOTES CAST SURE DEFICIT SURPLUS
CANDIDATES
DOS DATA COUNTY DATA FVE 12/14 FVE

LUZERNE 153,321 99 153,499 635 154,134 149,877 -4,257

BUTLER 113,305 349 111,309 227 113,899 113,914 15

In Luzerne County, SURE data shows 4,257 more ballots cast than
voters. However, Butler County, which followed the law and
reconciled all ballots cast to registered voters, had no voter
deficit. These counties are similar size but applied the laws
differently.
*As of 2/1/2021, the Luzerne voter deficit was -4,465.
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VOTER DEFICIT – AT TIME OF CONGRESSIONAL

CERTIFICATION OF ELECTORS
TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL
TOTAL TOTAL OVER & TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL
VOTES 3 VOTERS WHO CHANGE in VOTERS WHO
WRITE VOTES FOR UNDER BALLOTS VOTER VOTER
MAJOR VOTED SURE 3 Weeks VOTED SURE
IN PRESIDENT VOTES CAST DEFICIT SURPLUS
CANDIDATE FVE FVE
DOS DATA COUNTY DATA 12/14/2020 Δ 1/4/2021 1/6/2021
6,915,283 18,842 6,932,378 29,542 6,960,244 6,760,230 47,131 6,807,361 -157,727 2,205

More than 9 weeks after the General Election, the Department of State
had still not reconciled the number of voters who voted in the election.
The voter deficit in Pennsylvania was 157,727 at the time the electoral
votes were certified.

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NEW CHANGES IN VOTER HISTORY AFTER

THE CONGRESSIONAL CERTIFICATION
TOTAL VOTES TOTAL VOTERS TOTAL VOTERS TOTAL VOTERS
TOTAL BALLOTS CHANGE AFTER TOTAL VOTER
3 MAJOR WHO VOTED WHO VOTED WHO VOTED
CAST 1/6/2021 DEFICIT
CANDIDATES SURE FVE SURE FVE SURE FVE

DOS DATA COUNTY DATA 12/14/2020 1/4/2021 1/11/2021 Δ 1/11/2021

6,915,283 6,960,244 6,760,230 6,807,361 6,912,589 105,228 47,655

After the counting of electoral votes and after the objection to

Pennsylvania's Electors – 105,228 voter histories were updated. Why did
these updates occur 10 weeks after the election but just days after the
certification?
2/1/2021, the statewide voter deficit in this area alone is 48,050.

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SAMPLE SURE CHANGES

12/14/20 TO 2/1/21
TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL TOTAL
TOTAL VOTES
TOTAL VOTERS WHO VOTERS WHO VOTERS WHO VOTERS WHO VOTERS WHO VOTERS WHO TOTAL VOTER
COUNTY 3 MAJOR
BALLOTS CAST VOTED SURE VOTED SURE VOTED SURE VOTED SURE VOTED SURE VOTED SURE DEFICIT
CANDIDATES
FVE FVE FVE FVE FVE FVE
DOS DATA COUNTY DATA 12/14/2020 1/4/2021 1/11/2021 1/18/2021 1/25/2021 2/1/2021 2/1/2021
PHILADELPHIA 741,377 749,317 719,024 742,446 742,481 741,343 741,375 741,373 7,944
ALLEGHENY 719,733 726,720 605,754 607,358 715,113 715,446 720,328 720,280 6,440
DELAWARE 327,931 330,150 326,142 326,011 326,051 325,749 325,367 325,277 4,873
MONTGOMERY 510,157 513,395 508,084 507,382 507,237 507,157 508,118 508,889 4,506
LUZERNE 153,321 154,134 149,877 149,877 149,876 149,816 149,724 149,669 4,465
CHESTER 314,502 316,586 313,543 313,471 313,354 313,334 313,345 313,384 3,202
BUCKS 396,234 398,797 396,877 397,333 396,886 396,418 396,151 396,066 2,731
LANCASTER 280,239 282,538 281,117 280,972 281,004 280,939 280,714 280,743 1,795
WASHINGTON 118,478 119,139 117,156 117,016 116,907 117,486 117,439 117,477 1,662
YORK 238,471 239,665 238,877 238,879 238,516 238,470 238,466 238,688 977
LEHIGH 184,713 186,227 185,450 185,463 185,459 185,462 185,360 185,269 958

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RELIABILITY OF DATA
From Department of State

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Mail In Ballots Received

After 8pm on 11/3 Were
NOT Included in the
Vote Total

Ballots were returned by voters and

recorded as being returned in SURE. They
are voters who voted even though their
votes were not counted in the 6,915,283
votes certified for Presidential Electors

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MAIL IN BALLOTS RETURNED

11/12 and beyond 10,038
11/07 though 11/11 11,570 *For this analysis we
assume that 100% of
11/04 through 11/06 50,285 the ballots returned
on 11/3 were
TOTAL 71,893 received before
Source: Department of State Mail Ballot Dataset 1/13/2021
8:00PM

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Voter Deficit
– 2/1/2021
Including
Mail In Ballot
Data

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N TOTAL
TOTAL VOTES 3 TOTAL OVER & TOTAL
O VOTES 3 TOTAL
MAJOR VOTES FOR UNDER BALLOTS
COUNTY CANDIDATES
T MAJOR WRITE IN
PRESIDENT VOTES CAST
E CANDIDATES
DOS DATA OFFICIAL COUNTY DATA
ALLEGHENY 719,733 * -2,300 722,033 2,767 724,800 1,920 726,720
ARMSTRONG 36,370 * -56 36,426 55 36,471 45 36,471
CRAWFORD 42,004 * -2 42,006 98 42,104 unknown 42,104
FAYETTE 62,139 * -28 62,167 91 62,258 117 62,375
LEHIGH 184,713 * -379 185,092 563 185,655 572 186,227
MONROE 83,829 * 1,345 82,484 205 82,689 288 82,977
WESTMORELAND 204,697 * -147 204,844 486 205,330 758 206,088
YORK 238,471 * 1 238,470 582 239,052 613 239,665

Department of State Vote Totals Do Not

Match Official County Records in 8 Counties

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Votes Certified by Department of State

Candidate
County Name Votes
Name
WESTMORELAND BIDEN 72,129
WESTMORELAND JORGENSEN 2,350
WESTMORELAND TRUMP 130,218

One example of the

discrepancy between the
vote totals certified by
Secretary Boockvar and the
official results reported by
the county.

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RELIABILITY OF DATA FROM DEPARTMENT OF STATE

• The DOS Data is not using equations or

formulas to populate. This is demonstrated
by the mathematical errors on the
dashboard.

• Based on the Dashboard, PA actually

certified the incorrect number of electors

• Data downloaded from the DOS website

• Source: https://www.electionreturns.pa.gov/ does not match data reported

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RELIABILITY OF DATA FROM DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Due to mathematical
errors, the Secretary of
State certified the
incorrect number of
electors

Source: https://www.media.pa.gov/pages/State-details.aspx?newsid=435

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SURE IS THE OFFICIAL VOTER RECORD IN PA

• If SURE data was correct, the election could not be certified
due to the discrepancies.
• If SURE data was incorrect, the election could not be certified
due to discrepancies.

By Statute, the SURE System is the official voter record in Pennsylvania.

This record includes the date last voted.

Total voters who voted in the General Election on 11/3/2020 was

6,760,230. Secretary of State Boockvar certified 6,915,283 votes for just
the three major candidates. That alone is a voter deficit of 155,053
voters.
This does not include write-in votes or over/under votes
which all increase the voter deficit.

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE RESPONSE

On December 28th , The Pennsylvania Department of State released the following statement in response to
the voter deficit report:

"We are unclear as to what data the legislators used for this most recent “analysis.”
But the only way to determine the number of voters who voted in November from the
SURE system is through the vote histories. At this time, there are still a few counties that
have not completed uploading their vote histories to the SURE system.”
https://wjactv.com/news/local/pa-republican-lawmakers-analysis-finds-presidential-election-numbers-dont-add-up

The voter deficit report clearly indicates that the data used for the analysis was the
SURE system data from the DOS FVE dated 12/14/2020. As the DOS notes, the SURE
system is the only way to determine the number of voters who voted.

If, as the DOS notes, Allegheny County is still uploading vote histories into SURE, why
have the number of voters who voted in Allegheny County DECREASED in the last 20
Days?

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Reconciliation
is the only
way to ensure
one and only
one vote for
every legal
voter

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§ 1222. SURE SYSTEM (EXCERPTS)

(c) Requirements.-The SURE system shall be developed as a single, uniform
integrated computer system…The SURE system shall, at a minimum, do all of the
following:
(1) Contain a database of all registered electors in this Commonwealth.
13) Permit the timely printing and transmission by commissions of district
registers and all other information contained in the system as may be
necessary for the operation of the polling places on election days. (official poll
books generated from SURE)
(20) Identify registered electors who vote in an election and the method by
which their ballots were cast.
(e) Implementation.-The department shall implement the SURE system as soon
as possible. Upon being connected, each commission shall be required to use
the SURE system as its general register.

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§ 3154 ~ COMPUTATION OF RETURNS AND CERTIFICATION

*If, upon consideration by said return board of the returns
before it from any election district and the certificates
aforesaid, it shall appear that the total vote returned for any
candidate or candidates for the same office …exceeds the
number of registered or enrolled electors in said election
district or exceeds the total number of persons who voted in
said election district … such excess shall be deemed a
discrepancy and palpable error, and shall be investigated by
the return board, and no votes shall be recorded from such
district until such investigation shall be had…
*Excerpt – Full Section Available Online or In Supplemental Document

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IN A LIKE OR SIMILAR MANNER

Source: www.dos.pa.gov/VotingElections/Documents

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§ 3031.13 – POST ELECTION PROCEDURES

*(a) As soon as the polls have been closed and the last elector has voted in districts
having an electronic voting system which employs paper ballots or ballot cards, and
district tabulation is provided for, the number of such ballots issued to electors and
the number of ballots if any, spoiled and returned by voters and cancelled, shall be
announced to all present in the polling place and entered on the general returns of
votes cast at such primary or election. The district election officers shall then
compare the number of names marked as voting in the district register, "Voting
Check List" and numbered lists of voters, shall announce the result, and shall enter on
the general returns the number of electors who have voted…Any differences which
exist shall be reconciled where possible, and where reconciliation is not possible
such differences shall be noted on the general returns.
Counting and recording of mail-in ballots must be done in a like or similar manner –
including reconciliation to the general register which is the SURE system.

*Excerpt – Full Section Available Online or In Supplemental Document

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§ 1402(F) EXAMINATION
*Immediately following each election, the commission shall cause each
district register to be examined. The commission specifically shall compare
the signature of each elector on each voter's certificate with his signature in
the district register and shall report in writing to the district attorney any
evidence or indication of probable fraud, impersonation or forgery which
may appear to the commission by reason of the comparison.

§ 1409 SECRETARY OF COMMONWEALTH

*The Secretary of the Commonwealth is Pennsylvania's Chief Election
Official and is required, “upon receiving the certified returns of the
election from county boards, to “forthwith proceed to tabulate,
compute and canvass the votes cast for all candidates…”

*Excerpt – Full Section Available Online or In Supplemental Document

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UNEXPLAINED ANOMALIES
SURE SYSTEM

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REACTIVATED VOTERS
Reactivated + INJECTED
COUNTY
Voted 11/3 VOTERS
MONTGOMERY 6,779
55,823 BUCKS 4,932
ALLEGHENY 4,230
Voter Records where the voter was not CHESTER 3,321
in the FVE in April 2020 – possibly in BERKS 3,168
dormant holding in SURE. The voter YORK 3,097
records were reactivated and show LEHIGH 2,484
votes cast in the 2020 General election. WESTMORELAND 2,152
The are NOT inactive voters. Inactive BEAVER 1,635
records are in the FVE provided by the LACKAWANNA 1,611
DoS. LANCASTER 1,454

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REACTIVATED VOTERS
REGISTRATION YEAR DISTRIBUTION OF ADDED VOTERS

AGE DISTRIBUTION OF ADDED VOTERS

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EXPECTED RATE OF VOTER REMOVAL

Annual Annualized Monthly
CATEGORY Rate Count Count
Reference

https://suburbanstats.org/population/how-many-
PA population 12,702,379 people-live-in-pennsylvania

registered voters 9,023,878 PA FVE 12/24/2020

https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/HealthStatistic
expected registered
1.10% 95,195 7,933 s/V italStatistics/DeathStatistics/Documents/Deat
voter deaths h_AgeSexRaceYear_PA_2015_2019.pdf
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/32948
expected registered
1.50% 135,358 11,280 7509_Cohort_effects_on_the_long-
voter interstate move term_decline_in_migrat

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DELETING VOTER RECORDS

Removed
Change in
FVE Comparison Records (by
Record Count
ID)
4/6/20 to 11/9/20 537,935 96,203
11/9/20 to 2/1/21 (272,796) 305,874
305,874 voter Records that existed in SURE in the 11/9/2020
FVE were deleted as of the 2/1/2021 FVE.
Why were 96K records removed in the 8 months prior
to the election but in the 3 months after the election,
305K records were removed?

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AGES OF DELETED VOTER RECORDS

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DUPLICATE BALLOTS
Requested & Returned

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DUPLICATE MAIL IN BALLOT APPLICATIONS

• County election officials were inundated with duplicate
mail in ballot applications
• It was up to the county to review each new application
and make a judgement call about whether to send a
second mail in ballot
• There was no accounting of the excess mailed ballots.
Source: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2020/10/16/pennsylvania-
rejected-mail-ballot-applications-duplicates-voters/stories/202010160153
“Overall, one out of every five requests for mail ballots is being rejected in Pennsylvania. An
estimated 208,000 Pennsylvania voters sent in the spurned requests, some submitting them
multiple times. Although the state’s email rejecting the requests describes them as
duplicates, it doesn’t explain why, prompting some people to reapply. ProPublica and The
Inquirer identified hundreds of voters who submitted three or more duplicate applications;
one voter appears to have submitted 11 duplicates.”

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County
10/16/20 Source: Department of State
Total MIB
Requests
Duplicate
DUPLICATE APPLICATIONS
Requests Rejected
Approved
ADAMS 9,695 2,001
ALLEGHENY 190,557 49,025
ARMSTRONG 3,996 1,347
BEAV ER 16,893 5,362
BEDFORD 2,906 384
BERKS 42,084 7,544
BLAIR 9,578 2,993
BRADFORD 3,948 500
BUCKS 104,236 21,607
BUTLER 16,718 4,468
CA MBRIA 8,865 1,292
CA MERON 310 98
CA RBON 5,670 1,011
CENTRE 17,952 3,483
CHESTER 88,238 24,433
CLARION 2,265 354
CLEA RFIELD 4,894 897
CLINTON 2,229 332
COLUMBIA 5,264 693
CRAWFORD 6,584 782
CUMBERLAND 31,206 5,703
DA UPHIN 32,778 7,247
DELA WARE 71,523 15,779

Department of State released data showing the number of duplicate MIB

Applications that had been rejected as of 10/16/2020.
DOS did not release the number of duplicates that were approved & mailed.

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EXAMPLE: LEBANON COUNTY DUPLICATES

• Lebanon County has 92,637 registered voters.
• As of 10/16/2020, Lebanon had already received
2205 duplicate mail in ballot applications.
• County election officials had to review and
evaluate each application to determine if a second
mail in ballot should be mailed
• 990 duplicate ballots were sent to voters in Lebanon
County.
• The location of the additional 990 mail in ballots is
unknown.
*808 estimate by county. Data shows 990 duplicates mailed.

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THIRD PARTY ACCESS -SURE

Recap of Previous Issues Raised

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DEPARTMENT OF STATE GRANTED

ACCESS & AUTHORITY TO THIRD PARTY ENTITIES
• Third Party Access to SURE using Web API
• Allowing Third Party Entities authority to use
Web API to request Mail In Ballots
• Use of Voter Registration Data – posting on
the internet

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DOS Expanded Third Party Entities’ Access to

Include Mail-In Ballot Requests
On March 5, 2020, The
Department of State
issued an update to the
PA OVR Web API
Specification Document.
In that update, they real
that Posting Entities would
be granted access and
authority to not only
create voter registrations
but also to submit mail-in
ballot applications and
permanent mail-in list
selection.

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61

DUPLICATE VOTERS
Individuals in SURE With Multiple ID Numbers-
Both IDs Shown as Voted 11-3-2020

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POSSIBLE DUPLICATE VOTERS

USING THE STATEWIDE FVE, A QUERY OF ALL RECORDS WHERE
THE FIRST NAME, LAST NAME AND DATE OF BIRTH MATCHED
AND WHERE BOTH RECORDED A VOTE ON 11/3/2020 –
PRODUCED 4438 RECORDS. THESE RECORDS WARRANT
INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE HOW MANY PEOPLE VOTED TWO
OR MORE TIMES.

*THESE RECORDS HAVE BEEN REFERRED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR INVESTIGATION

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