Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, says elections in Afghanistan after the U.S. invasion were more secure than some elections in the Keystone State.
Mastriano told Fox News Digital during an interview Thursday it's critical for Republicans to win the governorship of Pennsylvania this year to ensure every legal vote is counted in 2024 and beyond.
"This is not hyperbole. It's going to sound like it, but under the international [military] coalition in Afghanistan, we ran better elections … in a war-torn third-world country than I've seen in Pennsylvania in some cases here," said Mastriano, a former U.S. Army colonel who served in Afghanistan.
"In Afghanistan, the international commission mandated voter ID. In Pennsylvania, you just show up and sign a piece of paper or mail in something with a signature, [and] we don't even know if it matches anything."
PA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE DOUG MASTRIANO SUING HOUSE JAN. 6 COMMITTEE
Mastriano said his goal as governor would be to revamp the state's voting infrastructure to ensure "free and fair elections" for Republicans, Democrats and independents.
"That's going to take a review of the voting machines. It's going to take a review of voting logs in the counties. That's going to take inspections to put safeguards into place," said Mastriano. "We're not about rigging anything. That's actually antithetical to my life of actually serving and fighting for our country."
PENNSYLVANIA MAIL-IN VOTING LAW CHALLENGED BY REPUBLICANS
In Pennsylvania, the governor has significant power with authority to appoint a secretary of state tasked with overseeing and running elections.
Incumbent Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf's pick for the position has come under fire for moving key election deadlines ahead of the 2020 contest.
The appointee also has been accused of selectively urging Democratic-leaning counties in 2020 to apply for privately-funded grants for get-out-of-the-vote initiatives.
"I've watched under Gov. Wolf that his past several secretaries of states — acting or otherwise — were far-left extreme political hacks for the Democrat Party," said Mastriano. "Watching how they manipulated and changed election law."
Democrats bristle at Mastriano's rhetoric. They say the Republican nominee's pledge to overhaul Pennsylvania's voting infrastructure is about subverting the election process in favor of Republicans.
"He has already said he would use his power as governor here in Pennsylvania … to decertify voting machines in order to pick the winner," said Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee for governor. "That's dangerous for anybody. Whether you agree with me or not, whether you're for me or not, you should want to know that your vote is going to count for the person that you choose."
Shapiro, who leads Mastriano in most public polling, told Fox News Digital the big dividing line within the race was not over politics, but rather respect for the Democratic process.
"I don't think this election is important for Democrats," said Shapiro. "I think this election is important for democracy."
