HARRISBURG, Pennsylvania (PNN) - November 21, 2020 - Dominion Voting Systems Thursday night abruptly backed out of attending a fact-finding hearing with the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee that was set for Friday morning.
At a press conference Friday morning, State Government Committee Chair Seth Grove said the 1.3 million Pennsylvanians who used Dominion’s voting machines have been “hung out to dry and slapped in their faces”.
Pennsylvania lawmakers had scheduled the hearing with the voting machine manufacturer “to help identify and correct any irregularities in the election process,” according to the House Republican Caucus.
“It is vitally important voters have faith in the machines they use to cast their ballots. On the heels of Governor Tom Wolf unilaterally decertifying every voting machine in the Commonwealth, we need to know whether these new machines met expectations, whether they are reliable, and whether they are not subject to interference,” said Rep. Seth Grove (York).
Dominion had initially agreed to attend the hearing before it “abruptly canceled,” Grove said.
“I was impressed at what appeared to be the willingness of Dominion Voting Systems to address accusations and it would have put 1.3. million Pennsylvanians who used their machines at ease - including myself, thinking that Dominion was willing to publicly back up their product, which Pennsylvania taxpayers invested millions to purchase,” he noted during the presser.
“Unfortunately, last evening Dominion Voting Systems lawyered up and backed out of their commitment to the people of Pennsylvania to provide their input in a public format.”
Grove blasted the company for “retreating into the darkness” rather than appearing at the hearing with “honesty and integrity”.
The committee chair said he wanted to know why a company with nothing to hide would back out of a public hearing.
“Why would a vender of public goods fear discussing their product sold to the public for the public good? If Dominion’s products were successful and operated as they were supposed to, why wouldn’t Dominion take the opportunity to publicly review its success?” Grove demanded. “How hard is it to say, ‘our ballot machines worked exactly as promised and they’re 100% accurate’?”
“After weeks of accusations, why has Dominion Voting Systems not released any analysis of the success of its voting machines to the public in order to stop their accusers in their tracks? If they have nothing to hide, why are they hiding from us?” he asked.
Grove stated that Dominion’s behavior lent credibility to their accusers’ accusations.
Rep. Dawn Keefer noted that 14 counties used the Dominion Voting Systems software, so they owe it to Pennsylvania voters to show up and answer some questions.
“We trust the workers in our polling places and in our counties,” Keefer said, “but what we don’t know is the role of third party companies; and when they rescind their participation in our hearing, we’re left wondering why.”
Keefer added, “Transparency is key for our election security. Dominion Voting Systems is asking us to give them only blind trust. We’re very disappointed in Dominion’s last-minute cancellation in today’s hearing.