Argall Calls for PA Secretary of State to Resign Amid Election Fallout

State Sen. Dave Argall joined other Republicans in Harrisburg on Friday in calling for the resignation of Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar.

Argall also says in a statement released Friday that an audit of the 2020 election process is in order.

“Secretary Boockvar’s ever-changing guidance regarding the process for receiving and canvassing mail in ballots is unacceptable,” Argall says. “Her actions have undermined both the Constitution, which gives the sole authority for determining the process for elections to the State Legislature, and the Election Code.”

Pennsylvania Sen. Dave Argall Calls for Secretary of State Resignation

Argall takes exception with last-minute changes to rules on how and what mail-in ballots would be counted.

Pennsylvania is still counting mail-in ballots and the actions by Republicans in the State Capitol come after the vote tally leaned in favor of Presidential candidate Joe Biden and several other prominent down-ballot Democrats earlier in the day. Since Election Night, Pennsylvania’s results showed President Trump with a solid lead over Biden. But as the vote count continued through the week, Trump’s lead dwindled.

Now, Pennsylvania is at the center of attention in the President’s legal pursuit challenging the validity of the election. And the state Republicans’ actions on Friday back the President’s call for transparency into how the election was handled here, specifically.

“The rules for how mail-in ballots are to be counted were clearly laid out before the election, but Boockvar’s eleventh hour guidance muddied the waters,” Argall says.

Pennsylvania State Senate Joins Lawsuit Before SCOTUS

A statement from State Sens. Joe Scarnati and Jake Corman details what they believe is proof that Boockvar undermined the US Constitution and the intent of state election laws. They also called for Boockvar to step down from her position and then spelled out reasons why she should.

“Twice in the last two days, the Secretary of State has fundamentally altered the manner in which Pennsylvania’s election is being conducted. The constantly changing guidance she has delivered to counties not only directly contradicts the Election Code language she is sworn to uphold, but also conflicts her own litigation statements and decisions of both the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court, the Senators’ statement reads.

They also say that Boockvar told the US Supreme Court on Oct. 28 that ballots received after 8 p.m. on Nov. 3 would be segregated from other ballots. However, they say Boockvar changed that rule on Nov. 1 and told county election bureaus to “canvass ballots as soon as possible upon receipt.”

“In some counties, it is not possible to both segregate and canvass ballots as directed. This directive leaves open the possibility that timely votes will be commingled with votes received after 8 p.m. on Election Day, despite the fact that these votes remain the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court,” their statement continues.

Pennsylvania Senate Joins Election Case Before US Supreme Court

The case before the Supreme Court argues the validity of those late-arriving ballots. Argall says a “partisan ruling” by the state Supreme Court changed the rule on what ballots should be counted. The high court ruling allowed mail-in ballots received through Nov. 6 to be counted.

“This ruling clearly goes above and beyond what the Legislature intended when crafting the election code, and I would encourage the Supreme Court to take up this case,” Argall says.

The State Senate also says Boockvar changed the rules at the very last minute on ballot mistakes. And they say Boockvar created her late changes “out of thin air.”

“The late release of this “guidance” resulted in inconsistent application across the counties – some of whom contacted voters as directed and some who did not. There is no basis for this guidance in current law. The Secretary created this new process out of thin air,” they said.

Argall Urges Pennsylvanians to Report Voter Fraud

Argall also called on constituents and all Pennsylvanians to report suspected voter fraud.

While the State Senate case before the US Supreme Court deals with one specific part of the voting process, it’s possible that the Trump campaign could get more cases before the court arguing that voter fraud was present during the 2020 election. Evidence of that from voters would certainly help the argument.

“If anyone has personally experienced any instance of fraud while you were voting, please share your concerns with my office so we can help pass your case along to the proper authorities,” Argall says. “We all want the same thing in this election: a fair process where every legal vote is counted, and everyone can have faith in the ultimate result of the election.”