New York Times: “Pennsylvania Republicans moved on Wednesday to seek personal information on every voter in the state as part of a brewing partisan review of the 2020 election results, rubber-stamping more than a dozen subpoenas for driver’s license numbers and partial Social Security numbers. The expansive request for personal information, directed at Pennsylvania’s Department of State and approved in a vote by Republicans on a State Senate subcommittee, is the first major step of the election inquiry. The move adds Pennsylvania to a growing list of states that have embarked on partisan-led reviews of the 2020 election, including a widely criticized attempt to undermine the outcome in Arizona’s largest county.”

“Democrats in the Senate questioned whether the committee even had the authority to request such information, which state law generally shields from public disclosure, and denounced the investigation as nakedly partisan and unfounded. The subpoenas, 17 in all, also included a request for communications between state and county election officials. They did not include requests for election machines or equipment. Republicans in several states have pursued similar reviews – misleadingly labeled ‘audits’ to suggest an authoritative nonpartisan investigation – in the name of protecting ‘election integrity.’ The reviews have often centered on baseless claims and debunked conspiracy theories about the presidential contest, spurred in part by the falsehoods promoted by former President Donald J. Trump and his allies. President Biden won Pennsylvania by more than 80,000 votes, and the results have been reaffirmed by the state’s Department of State.”