HARRISBURG, PA — A western Pennsylvania campaign aide was sentenced to four to eight years in prison for forging signatures on congressional nominating petitions, exposing a breach of Pennsylvania’s candidate qualification process during the 2022 Democratic primary.
Kirk Rice, 66, of Cheswick, also received 93 months of probation following his prison sentence and must repay $1,340 to the Steve Irwin for Congress campaign, according to Attorney General Dave Sunday.
An Allegheny County jury previously convicted Rice of 15 counts of identity theft, 15 counts of forgery, two counts of perjury, one count of theft by deception and related offenses.
Rice submitted 34 pages containing 437 purported signatures supporting Irwin’s nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives. The campaign paid him $1,340 to collect the signatures, and the petitions were formally filed as part of Irwin’s candidacy.
Investigators determined the signatures were falsified, including one attributed to U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon. The campaign later became aware that Rice may have submitted fraudulent petitions.
Rice admitted that he did not collect signatures door to door and instead visited Pittsburgh businesses without verifying whether prospective signers were registered Democrats, a requirement of the nomination process.
The sentencing judge also prohibited Rice from working for any county election department or circulating nominating petitions.
“This defendant’s actions are an affront to every voter who expects honesty and accountability in our elections,” Sunday stated. “This sentence should serve as a reminder that my office will investigate any and all types of election fraud, no matter the person or political party.”
Senior Deputy Attorney General Alexander Cashman prosecuted the case.
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