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Pennsylvania Republican says he wants to copy Arizona’s much mocked pro-Trump election ‘audit’

Ballots from the 2020 general election are being examined and recounted at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on May 1, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona.  (Getty Images)
Ballots from the 2020 general election are being examined and recounted at Veterans Memorial Coliseum on May 1, 2021 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Getty Images)

A top Pennsylvanian Republican said he supports having a ballot recount similar to the one currently happening in Maricopa County, Arizona.

David Argall, a Republican state senator in Pennsylvania, told reporters that he would welcome a chance to review the election results in the state.

Mr Argall heads the Senate State Government Committee, which includes overseeing election officials.

The state senator told reporters that the Maricopa recount has been "very careful" and "forensic," and said "I don't see the danger in it."

The Maricopa audit has been buried in criticism since its inception, including opposition from Republicans in the state's government.

Critics of the audit claim it is a highly partisan affair, noting that Cyber Ninja, the group conducting the audit, has never managed an electoral recount and that its CEO, Doug Logan, was not only a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump, but echoed his election fraud conspiracy theories.

Republican Pennsylvania state Senator David Argall, who has called for an election audit similar to the one occurring in Maricopa County, Arizona (Pennsylvania state legislature)
Republican Pennsylvania state Senator David Argall, who has called for an election audit similar to the one occurring in Maricopa County, Arizona (Pennsylvania state legislature)

The audit has also lasted far longer than intended. The original estimated date for completion was late May, but the process has continued well into the summer, even being interrupted by graduation ceremonies that were scheduled to take place at the venue.

“We express our united view that your ‘audit,’ no matter what your intentions were in the beginning, has become a spectacle that is harming all of us. Our state has become a laughingstock. Worse, this ‘audit’ is encouraging our citizens to distrust elections, which weakens our democratic republic,” the Republican-led Maricopa Board of Supervisors wrote.

Even still, Mr Argall believes having a similar affair in Pennsylvania would be beneficial.

"I just think that it would not be a bad idea at all to proceed with an audit similar to what they're doing in Arizona," he told reporters.

The state has already conducted two audits of the 2020 election, both which confirmed that Joe Biden won the state. The president won the state by more than 80,000 votes, or 1 percentage vote, which was a larger margin than Mr Trump won by in 2016.

Regardless, the state senator still wants to proceed.

"I am not hung up on how exactly the audit is completed. I just think that we should complete one," he said. "I think it needs to be independent. I think there is going to be mistrust if the same people who conducted the election conduct the audit."

Thus far, the Republican-controlled state legislature has rejected the idea of another audit.

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