‘Lots of evidence we’re here:’ Father Nuns fight allegation of voter fraud on social media

ERIE — A group of nuns say a conservative political organizer posted “false and misleading information” about them, claiming no one lives in their Erie home and vaguely threatening to consult their lawyers about them.

The Benedictine Sisters of Erie issued a press release this week in response to a post by Cliff Maloney, CEO of the conservative political group Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania, who said someone who works with him knocked on the door of their convent “and NOBODY. lives there.”

They certainly do, according to the religious group.

“We want to hold Cliff Maloney accountable for his patently false post accusing our sisters of fraud,” they said. “We live at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery and a simple internet search would alert him to our active presence in a number of ministries in Erie.”

PA Chase, a group formed by Maloney as part of the Citizens Alliance, is paying people to knock on doors in an effort to increase Republican voter turnout and use mail-in ballots. Messages seeking comment were left Friday for Maloney and Citizens Alliance Pennsylvania,

The nuns say they have also consulted with lawyers and want “to be aware that they have denounced this fraud so that if the outcome of next month’s election is contested in Pennsylvania, our integrity will not be called into question.”

The names of 53 nuns have been posted online, but the nuns say 55 of them currently live there and that three of the 53 on the name video Maloney put on X no longer live there.

Maloney later posted on X that if the nuns are legal voters, “then I encourage them to participate in their right to vote,” adding that “at this time, we have our legal team continuing to review the situation.”

Sister Linda Romey, who coordinates the nuns’ outreach and development efforts, said Friday, “I mean, there’s nothing to analyze.” And with news crews filming them in recent days, she said “there’s a lot of evidence that we’re here.”

Romey said the nuns feel Maloney violated their privacy.

“They immediately post something without a simple question being asked,” Romey said.

The nuns’ moment in the political spotlight drew a call from Al Schmidt, who as secretary of state is Pennsylvania’s top election official. Schmidt posted on X Thursday that he spoke with the prioress of the convent “to thank her for standing up to election misinformation.”