GOP Chair Christiana asks DA to review mail-in ballot envelopes, requests from nursing homes

Nov. 25--Beaver County's top GOP leader believes not everything is as it seems with some of the county's mail-in ballots.

After reviewing a smattering of mail-in ballot envelopes and request forms through an open records request, Jim Christiana, chairman of the Republican Committee of Beaver County, has asked county District Attorney David Lozier to conduct a "professional review" of about 50 of those envelopes and requests to determine if a criminal investigation is warranted.

"My objective with this request is not to overturn the outcome of a particular election," Christiana said. "Rather my only desire is to protect the integrity of our democracy, to protect each person's constitutional right to vote, and to ensure that our most vulnerable citizens have not had their right to vote compromised."

Last week, Christiana filed a Right-to-Know request with the county to review almost 2,000 mail-in ballot envelopes and request forms from eight voting precincts where there are nursing homes. He said he was spurred to make the request after hearing complaints from several voters who said they were told they had requested a mail-in ballot, though they insist they hadn't.

Those complaints pushed him to research ballot requests and returns throughout the county. Christiana said he found "highly improbable patterns" during his initial review, including a substantial portion of mail-in ballot requests from specific long-term care facilities being received on the same day.

On Monday morning, Christiana began his review, which he said he was unable to complete because of "the overwhelming amount of fraud and potentially criminal behavior" he discovered.

Christiana alleges that ballots belonging to numerous registered Republicans had forged signatures on the outside envelopes. The signatures on the ballot envelopes do not match the signatures on the ballot requests, he said.

He said there are dozens of ballots with envelopes filled out and signed in the exact same handwriting. The same, he said, is true of the corresponding request forms that are filled out in identical neat handwriting.

"I'm not a handwriting expert or a law enforcement agent," Christiana said. "I want (Lozier) to review the information to determine if there should be a criminal investigation. In my personal opinion, a criminal investigation should be opened up."

Christiana said he believes that a review and investigation by Lozier and his detectives could lead to a broader review of how mail-in ballots were used in Beaver County.

Lozier said Wednesday that he hadn't reviewed the allegations, but would do so as quickly as staffing and COVID-19 allows.

"Beaver County's election results have been certified to the state," Lozier said. "There is nothing that can be done to change or challenge the results. However, as with any potential criminal matter my office will investigate a well-founded complaint of criminal wrongdoing. This could include illegal harvesting of ballots or fraudulently submitting ballots or ballot requests. I will treat such claims seriously as such crimes impact the integrity of our election processes."

According to the Beaver County Bureau of Elections, there were 29,205 mail-in ballots cast. In total, the department sent out 35,492 mail-in ballots to voters.

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