NEW POLL: Pennsylvania Voters Oppose Fake Election “Audit” Proposed by State Sen. Mastriano

Published: 7.30.21

Washington, D.C. – States United Action released a new poll revealing that Pennsylvania voters oppose the fake 2020 election “investigation” proposed by State Senator Doug Mastriano and trust the official results already certified. The survey finds that seventy-four percent (74%) of Pennsylvania voters have heard at least a bit about the proposed investigation and that these voters already believe the audit cannot be trusted by a fourteen-point margin (47% to 33%). After all voters hear more background, they say they trust the official vote count already certified by Pennsylvania’s election officials more than any results from Sen. Mastriano’s attempted operation by a fifteen-point margin (53%-38%). The Mastriano-proposed “audit” closely mirrors the unpopular so-called “audit” happening in Maricopa County, Arizona, including having similar concerns around transparency, election security, and cost to taxpayers.

“Pennsylvania voters get it: county officials have already certified and audited the 2020 election and this partisan attempt to conduct a fake ‘audit’ is just a sad sequel to the damaging situation playing out in Arizona,” said Joanna Lydgate, CEO of States United Action. “We applaud the bipartisan leaders in the state who are pushing back on this bad faith effort. Pennsylvania voters deserve leaders who are focused on working for Pennsylvania families, not wasting time and taxpayer dollars on a conspiracy theory-based effort to rehash an already settled election.”

Conducted by The Mellman Group from July 15-20, via landline, cell, and text-to-online, the poll surveyed 600 registered voters in Pennsylvania, using a registration-based sample. In one of the nation’s most closely divided states, where President Joe Biden won by one percentage point, other key findings from the polling include:

• Seventy-four percent (74%) of Pennsylvania voters have heard at least a bit about the proposed investigation.

• Those voters believe the audit cannot be trusted by a fourteen-point margin (47% to 33%). After hearing more background information, voters say they will trust the official vote count already certified by Pennsylvania’s election officials more than the results from this new investigation by a fifteen-point margin (53%-38%).

• The most concerning aspects to respondents of Senator Mastriano’s so-called “audit” were the following:
  • Need for a Republican Party that works in the best interest of Pennsylvanians and isn’t embroiled in division over a settled election.
  • Fact that Pennsylvania counties confirmed the results were accurate through audits required by state law.
  • Lack of transparency and security surrounding the investigation.
  • Cost to taxpayers of replacing election equipment due to potential security breaches resulting from this investigation.

• By a nineteen-point margin (57% to 38%), Pennsylvania voters believe that President Biden won the election in their state.

Earlier this month, States United Action, Fair Fight Action, and United to Protect Democracy launched a first-of-its-kind web tool designed to track state-specific attacks on election integrity via sham election reviews, like the ongoing so-called “audit” in Maricopa County, Arizona and the proposed on in Pennsylvania. The tracking tool, found at NotAnAudit.com, details the commonalities between the chaos unfolding in Maricopa County and other attempts at fake investigations into the 2020 election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. In June, States United Action released a poll that revealed Arizona voters oppose the fake “audit” in Maricopa County. The survey also found that a large majority (89%) of respondents have heard about the “audit” and that the more people know about the operation the more they distrust it.

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About States United Action
States United Action is a nonpartisan section 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization with a mission to protect our elections and our democracy. States United Action advocates for policies that protect election integrity, hold democracy violators accountable, and prevent political violence that threatens to undermine the will of the American people, and amplifies the voices of state leaders and law enforcement leaders who share these values.