Voter registration fraud probe involving 2500 applications confirmed by Pa. election officials

The office confirmed it has been in contact with Lancaster County since last week, after it reported receiving two separate batches of apparently fraudulent voter registration forms. 

"Suspected fraudulent voter registration forms were dropped off at the Board of Elections Office in two batches at or near the deadline for submission," the board said in a statement Friday. 

Both the local District Attorney's office and the Lancaster County Board of Elections are working to review and vet the applications.

In a statement Friday, county election officials said the concerns were first noted "during the staff's normal process to review and enter applications into [a Pennsylvania database] and law enforcement was alerted.

The forms marked as suspicious either had false names, duplicative handwriting, or unverifiable or incorrect identifying information, they added-- prompting county election officials to immediately notify both the Pennsylvania Department of State and the state attorney general's office and open a criminal investigation. 

Speaking at a press conference Friday, Lancaster County officials urged calm and stressed that the election system did what it was intended to do in preventing fraud. The applications were not limited to a single party, and were collected in various spots across the county.

"The fact of the matter is, we've contained this," Lancaster County Commissioner Ray D'Agostino, a Republican who chairs the county election board,, told reporters.  "This is not right. It's illegal. It's immoral. And we found it, and we're going to take care of it."

Ultimately, he said, "the people of Lancaster County can be confident in how we conduct our elections." 

The Pennsylvania Department of State applauded Lancaster County Friday "for their diligent work in spotting this potential fraud and bringing it to the attention of law enforcement."

"As the county's efforts show, multiple safeguards exist to ensure the integrity of our elections, and Pennsylvanians can have confidence that this November's election will be safe, secure, free, and fair," the office told Fox News.

This is a breaking news story. Follow along for more updates.