Montco Joins Shapiro In Suit Against Republican Election Audit

NORRISTOWN, PA — Leaders in Montgomery County are taking a stand against an effort by Pennsylvania Republicans to gather private voter data as a part of their forensic audit of the 2020 general election.

Republicans insist there were irregularities in 2020 that need to be investigated through this analysis of personal voter data. Montgomery County leaders joined Attorney General Josh Shapiro is saying the effort is not only fruitless, but could impact the integrity of future elections. Shapiro has filed suit to halt the GOP's subpoena, which would grant them access to data on millions of Pennsylvanians.

>>PA GOP Effort To Access Data On 9 Million Voters Challenged

“[The subpoena] threatens to deter eligible voters from registering for fear that their personal information might be exposed to third parties,” Montgomery County Commissioner Val Arkoosh wrote in a brief supporting Shapiro's filing. "And may erode the trust already-registered electors have in the elections process by lending legitimacy to false and dangerous claims that the Nov. 2, 2020, election was somehow fraudulent."

Since the GOP subpoena was issued in September, Arkoosh said Montgomery County has received numerous complaints from residents regarding the exposure of their voting data. In neighboring Bucks County, leaders said that more than 300 complaints have come in.

When the GOP-led Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee approved the subpoena, committee Chairman and State Sen. Cris Dush of Jefferson County said the registration and voter lists will help paint a more complete picture of Pennsylvania's election system to "allow for positive changes to existing law."

Dush said the subpoenas for voter information were necessary after state department officials declined to to testify at a committee hearing last week to discuss the guidance they issued to counties prior to the election.

"There was no good reason for our invitation to be ignored," Dush said.

Meanwhile, Gov. Tom Wolf, Shapiro, and other Democrats have criticized the move as an attempt to legitimize the "Big Lie" that former President Donald Trump was cheated out of winning the election.