HARRISBURG, PA — A Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General investigation into forged nomination petitions tied to Pennsylvania’s 2022 congressional primary resulted in the conviction of an Allegheny County man accused of falsifying hundreds of voter signatures for payment, highlighting vulnerabilities in the state’s ballot qualification process.
A jury convicted Kirk Rice on Friday of theft by deception, forgery, perjury, and related charges following a weeklong trial, according to Attorney General Dave Sunday’s office. Sentencing is scheduled for August 17.
Prosecutors said Rice was paid $1,340 to collect signatures for Democratic congressional candidate Steve Irwin ahead of the 2022 primary election.
According to trial testimony, Rice submitted 34 petition pages containing 437 signatures that were later filed with the campaign as part of Irwin’s nomination paperwork.
Investigators determined the signatures were fraudulent, including one purportedly belonging to U.S. District Judge Cathy Bissoon.
The Attorney General’s office said investigators interviewed dozens of listed signers, none of whom confirmed signing the petitions.
The case centered on Pennsylvania’s petition-gathering process, which requires signatures from registered voters affiliated with the candidate’s political party in order to qualify for the ballot.
According to testimony, Rice admitted during the investigation that he did not conduct traditional door-to-door canvassing. Instead, prosecutors said, he walked through Pittsburgh businesses collecting names without verifying whether individuals were registered Democrats.
Attorney General Dave Sunday said the conduct compromised confidence in the election system.
“This defendant deliberately undermined the integrity of Pennsylvania’s election process by falsifying signatures for financial gain,” Sunday said. “This type of conduct is taken very seriously as it threatens the foundation of our democracy.”
The case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy Attorney General Alexander Cashman.
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