News & Politics

Costa: ‘Enough is enough’ with state Senate election investigation

Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa speaks at a February press conference

Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa speaks at a February press conference Commonwealth Media Services

A state Senate committee investigating Pennsylvania’s elections sparked controversy during a March 31 hearing on ballot drop boxes when the committee’s Republican chairman refused to have witnesses testify under oath. 

Instead, state Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee Chairman Cris Dush, without explanation, had panelists speak on election-related matters without being sworn in, despite requests from Democrats to do so. That prompted Democrats, led by Senate Democratic Leader Jay Costa, who is also on the committee, to leave the meeting in protest, although the hearing, which included testimony regarding a video from Lehigh County that allegedly depicts a person stuffing ballots into a county drop box, continued. Following the hearing, Dush criticized the move, calling it “dramatic” and “disrespectful” to the testifiers. “It is deceptive for anyone to imply that the testimony given today by county election officials and local leaders was anything other than authentic and true,” Dush said in a statement. “The decision by Democratic committee members to abruptly leave today’s hearing was not only unproductive and dramatic, but it was also incredibly disrespectful to the testifiers who want nothing more than to help this committee work towards ensuring election integrity.”

City & State spoke with Costa on GOP efforts to investigate the state’s recent elections, despite no evidence surfacing of improprieties, why Democrats left the hearing in protest, and what efforts to examine Pennsylvania elections should look like. 

This interview has been condensed and edited for length and clarity.

What is the status of the lawsuit challenging the state Senate Intergovernmental Operations Committee’s investigation into the state’s recent elections?

As I understand the lawsuit at this juncture, we’re still waiting for the judge to determine whether or not she has jurisdiction over the allegations or concerns that we’ve raised in our lawsuit. So we’re waiting. The matter has been argued and briefed, and I believe at this juncture we’re still waiting for a decision from – I think it’s Judge (Mary Hannah) Leavitt – about how we proceed next – whether we even proceed at all. 

Why did Democrats choose to leave the March 31 meeting?

This is just a continuation, in our view, of this effort to undermine the integrity of our election and electoral process and it all ties back to the 2020 Big Lie theory that Republicans – and particularly the chairman of this committee, and other members of this committee – continue to perpetuate. I have serious questions about why they didn’t want to swear witnesses in, when, as I mentioned at the hearing, every single person who appeared before the Appropriations Committee (for recent state budget hearings) to testify was sworn in. The last meeting we had with the Fulton County Commissioner; he was sworn in. This is just a waste of money – a waste of time – to be able to perpetuate this Big Lie theory that we need to move on from.

What type of message does not swearing in those panelists send to Pennsylvanians?

I think it sends a message that there is a level of (concern about the) veracity of the witness. And I think he probably was not in a position to say whether or not the person was being truthful or not. That’s what it told me. That’s what it should tell: That he too questions whether or not, possibly, the witness would be able to testify truthfully.

What are your thoughts on how Sen. Dush has handled election-related hearings so far? 

I think he’s done a poor job of handling election matters. He’s not been inclusive. More importantly, he has unilaterally done things under the guise of the committee, but outside the scope of any authority that committee has given him as chairperson. He does not run a unilateral committee. He’s not the only member of that committee.

Will Democrats be attending future meetings held by the committee?

It’s hard to say right now. I mean, we’ve certainly participated in committee meetings, provided that we have advance notice for what they are and have the ability to bring folks to participate in the meeting – we weren’t permitted to bring any witnesses to testify at this hearing yesterday, and it was something that was hastily put together. It’s a committee made up of both parties. While one party has a majority, they have an obligation to work with the other side of the aisle as well.

What would an ideal way of examining the state’s elections and election-related laws look like in your eyes? How do you think this process should be run?

Well, I think we've already had examples of that. The committee that (State Senate President Jake) Corman put together – the integrity committee – looked at all these issues, and it was a bipartisan committee. I appointed my members, he appointed members and they came out with a report and they gave recommendations. That was one way. The Election Law Advisory board or committee that came out of Act 12 of 2020 – county elected officials, county election directors, legislators all participated in this committee process, and they came out with a report. Then you have our State Government Committees, at least in the Senate State Government Committee, they too participated and came out with recommendations – a series of things that needed to be done. To me, those are the vehicles that we should be utilizing to examine this stuff. But if you’re looking to a particular committee, it should be the State Government Committee that we believe, historically and to this day, has subject matter jurisdiction over election matters, not the Intergovernmental Operations Committee. 

City & State has reached out to a spokesperson for Sen. Cris Dush to conduct an interview with Dush, but has not received a response at press time. 

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.