State Watch

Pennsylvania nuns reject GOP claim of voter fraud at their address

A voter arrives to cast their mail-in ballot at the City-County Building in downtown Pittsburgh Monday, May 16, 2022. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

The Benedictine Sisters of Erie in Pennsylvania rejected claims of voter fraud after the founder of a group focused on campaigning to increase GOP ballots and mail-in results alleged that while there were 53 registered voters at an address, “no one lives there,” he wrote in a post on the social platform X.

“BREAKING: a member of the PA CHASE discovered an address in Erie, PA today where 53 voters are registered. Turns out it’s the Benedictine Sisters of Erie and NO ONE lives there,” Cliff Maloney, the founder of The Pennsylvania Chase, a project dedicated to “matching the Democrat’s tactics for mail-in ballot success and securing a significant victory for liberty-loving Republicans in the 2024 election,” wrote in the post on Tuesday.

“Our attorney’s are reviewing this right now. We will not let the Dems count on illegal votes,” the post read. Maloney claimed that someone had knocked on the door because “a Republican mail-in ballot is unreturned.”

In a statement, the Benedictine Sisters were quick to squash Maloney’s allegation.

“We want to call Cliff Maloney to account for his blatantly false post that accuses our sisters of fraud. We do live at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery and a simple web search would alert him to our active presence in a number of ministries in Erie,” Sister Stephanie Schmidt said in a statement.

Schmidt also urged users on X to “be vigilant” before accepting posts like Maloney’s as truth.

“A free republic depends on free and fair elections. It depends equally on a discerning and conscientious citizenry who do not unquestioningly accept the word of anyone who has a social media platform,” she added in the statement.

Pennsylvania is a crucial battleground state for Vice President Harris and former President Trump. According to a polling index from The Hill/Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ), Trump narrowly leads Harris, 48.5 percent to 48.3 percent.