Multi-county voter registration investigation ongoing under Attorney General

• Jordan Wilkie/WITF
  BioRecent Stories

  

  As the democracy reporter for WITF, I will cover any kind of story that has to do with how we govern ourselves. That will include doing a lot of election coverage about how to access the ballot, how public officials administer elections, the technology used to run and secure elections, and the laws that govern it all.
  
  My work will also include accountability coverage for elected officials that use their positions to then undermine democratic institutions, like the legislators that voted against the certification of the presidential election results on January 6, 2021. If that weren’t enough, I foresee covering some local government decisions, fights over public records and transparency, and some candidate coverage in 2024. Many stories can have a “democracy frame” meant to help us all understand how our governments work and how we can shape them.
  
  I’m most looking forward to the community reporting about which WITF is passionate. I’ll be talking to a lot of folks about what they want out of their governments, local to national, and how they want to make their visions reality. I’m excited to meet you and talk, with or without a microphone on hand.
  
  I also like to turn my work phone off. When I do that, I’m looking for rocks to climb, trails to run on (slower and slower, somehow), and new places to visit. I’ve lived in the (extended) South for most of my life, so y’all will hear me say things funny and sometimes my hearing is funny, too, so we’ll figure out this radio thing together.

 BLAINE SHAHAN | Staff Photographer / LNP|LancasterOnline

David W. Sunday, Jr., with hand raised, is sworn in as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General by Judge Joseph C. Adams, York County Court of Common Pleas, right, during a ceremony at the Forum Auditorium in Harrisburg on Tuesday, Jan 21, 2025. Sunday’s wife Lishani and their son Bodhi, left, are holding the Bible for the swearing in.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the number of faulty registrations in a Delaware County indictment. One faulty registration was successfully processed, though no vote was cast with that registration. The woman charged, Jennifer Hill, was charged with attempting to register four individuals ineligible for registration.

Update: This story has been updated to include a statement from the New Pennsylvania Project CEO regarding Hill’s employment.

Pennsylvania’s new attorney general said Wednesday that he had no update on an investigation his office is leading into large numbers of voter registration forms submitted to several counties in October. 

“ Because it is an ongoing investigation, it wouldn’t be proper for me to talk about it right now,” Attorney General Dave Sunday told WITF. 

His office announced it was taking over the cases from Berks, Lancaster and York counties on Jan. 21, the same day Sunday took office. He previously served as York County’s district attorney. 

Sunday said he had not received an update on the investigation and that he would ask his staff for a briefing and provide an update if there are details that can be shared publicly. His comments to a reporter came after Sunday’s appearance before the state House Appropriations Committee.

Lancaster District Attorney Heather Adams and the county’s three commissioners first announced an  investigation on October 25, four days after the voter registration window closed.

At that press conference, Adams announced that the county had received 2,500 voter registration forms at the registration deadline and that her office had begun an investigation into an unstated number of those forms. 

“With the election fast approaching, this announcement was critical in stopping any plans of future illegal conduct that could have impacted our elections process here in Lancaster County,” Adams said in a written statement issued after the investigation was moved to the Attorney General’s office. 

Under former Attorney General Michelle Henry, the office said it would support counties in their investigations. That office and the Department of State said the fact that improperly filled out voter registration forms were caught by the counties demonstrated the system was working as intended. 

There is no evidence that any faulty voter registration forms were accepted or that any votes were cast by ineligible voters as a result. 

Separately, Delaware County in December announced the arrest of a county woman, Jennifer Hill, for fraudulently attempting to register four people to vote while working as a registration canvasser for the left-leaning New Pennsylvania Project, according to statements from the county district attorney, Jack Stollsteimer. That county did not announce the existence of the investigation prior to making the arrest.

New Pennsylvania Project CEO Kadida Kenner told WITF that Stollsteimer misspoke and included an error in the affidavit in the case. Kenner said Hill works for the New PA Project Education Fund, a nonpartisan 501(c)(3), a separate but affiliated organization with the New Pennsylvania Project, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that also works on voter registrations.

Mosaic is WITF’s home for all things arts, culture and lifestyle.

We spotlight and uplift the creators around us, featuring amazing artists, musicians, authors, chefs, dancers, designers, photographers, and more.

Watch Now