Pennsylvania’s GOP-controlled Senate to spend up to $270K on election

The Pennsylvania GOP-controlled Senate is spending up to $270,000 to investigate the result of the 2020 presidential election in the state.

A contract, which has not been made public yet, was agreed upon by Senate Majority Leader Kim Ward (R) and Envoy Sage, a company from Iowa, to conduct a “forensic investigation” of the election results, Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee spokesman Jason Thompson announced Friday, The Associated Press reported. 

Thompson said that a redacted version of the contract will be released to the public in the near future, according to the AP. Ward agreed to give the company $270,000 from a taxpayer-funded leadership account.

The agreement between the state officials and the company comes in the wake of the 2020 election, which saw President BidenJoe BidenHouse Democrats push vote on social spending plan to Friday Fauci says all adults should ‘go get boosted’ Senate confirms Park Service director after years of acting heads MORE best former President TrumpDonald TrumpGOP Senate candidate says Fauci is ‘mass murderer,’ should be jailed rather than ‘hero’ Rittenhouse Overnight Health Care — Presented by Emergent Biosolutions — Pfizer, US strike COVID-19 pill deal On The Money — House Democrats ready to Build Back Better MORE in the Keystone State by some 80,000 votes.

Following his loss, Trump alleged that the election as a whole was tainted by widespread voter fraud, and the former president and his allies launched legal challenges to the results in several swing states including Pennsylvania. However, there has been no substantial evidence of widespread voter fraud in the election. 

The forensic investigation is part of a push by GOP Pennsylvania state lawmakers to probe the election results following Trump’s claims. 

Envoy Sage president Steven Lahr said there are no “pre-conceived notions for what we will or will not find” in the investigation. 

Committee Chair Cris Dush (R) will be leading the investigation that will examine the 2020 election, with an eye on reforming the state election law. 

The investigation is not a full audit like the one that took place in Arizona, however. 

“The goal is to determine what flaws exist in our election system and to fix them through legislation,” Thompson said.

The Associated Press reported that Lahr has previously made donations to the National Republican Congressional Committee and Sen. Lindsey GrahamLindsey Olin GrahamSenators look to defense bill to move cybersecurity measures Is Russia about to make a ‘serious mistake’ in Ukraine? Graham says friendship with Biden at breaking point over Afghanistan withdrawal MORE (R-S.C.).

The announcement follows a subpoena, currently held up in court, by the committee to gather information on voter data in the executive branch.

Democrats in the Senate have objected to the audit, saying it is a “witch hunt.” Pennsylvania Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D) said that the Democrats on the Intergovernmental…