AG, State Police Investigating 'Voter Registration Irregularities'

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pennsylvania Attorney General Bruce Beemer says his office is investigating "voter registration irregularities" across the state just days before the election.

"The Office of Attorney General and the Pennsylvania State Police are investigating a pattern of voter registration irregularities across the Commonwealth," the statement began.

Beemer noted that it is "premature to reach any conclusion."

Sources say this announcement is regarding a company called FieldWorks, a Washington DC group, which was registering voters across the state, including here in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Canvassers were paid $13 an hour and may have been required to meet some sort of quota.

Sources tell KDKA that the problem may have originated in this region; although, the state police conducted raids on Thursday and Friday in the Philadelphia area.

The company says it is cooperating fully with the investigation. They released this statement through their spokesperson:

"The integrity of our electoral system is a foundation of our democracy, which is why FieldWorks has the most rigorous quality controls in the industry and zero tolerance for fraud. Our team works closely with state and local officials to ensure that we exceed the requirements of the law.

"FieldWorks proactively brings any problems with registration forms to the attention of local officials.

"Fieldworks is now working with county officials to provide them with information on our program and applications they are investigating. In keeping with our regular practice, we will work aggressively with authorities to seek the prosecution of anyone involved in wrongdoing.

"As this is an ongoing investigation, we'll decline further comment until the authorities conclude their efforts."

U.S. Rep. Pat Meehan, a Republican, claims some of the registration forms missed submission deadlines and had bad addresses, but his Democratic opponent, Mary Ellen Balchunis called it a phony accusation.

"What do you do about the 52 registrations in which there's no valid address? It's not that there's no valid address. There's an address listed. There's just no such location in Delaware County," said Rep. Meehan.

"I believe this is part of the Republican effort to suppress voter turnout," Balchunis said.

The Attorney General was clear that, at this stage, "there is no evidence of voter fraud." That is, nobody who has filed irregular registration forms has voted yet.

In fact, in Pennsylvania, voters registering for the first time in a new location are required to show some form of photo ID when they cast their ballots for the first time.

The Attorney General's Office says the investigation is ongoing.

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