As Trump repeats ‘the Big Lie,’ this group is working to boost faith in Pa.’s elections ahead of November

“I think what we saw in ‘20 was a lot of people not understanding the system,” former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said. “And I think they still don’t.”

Mark Lefelhoc believes in voting, especially when former President Donald Trump is on the ballot. But since 2020, the retired truck driver hasn’t put much faith in the U.S. election system.

“How do I feel about the next one? Well, that depends,” Lefelhoc, 67, told The Inquirer at the National Rifle Association’s outdoor show in Harrisburg last week. “Are they gonna steal it again?”

Lefelhoc is one of thousands of Americans who still believe the “Big Lie,” that Trump won the 2020 election. As the 2024 election approaches, county election boards, officials, and some nonprofit groups are trying to improve trust in U.S. elections.

Trump’s most faithful believers may never come around, especially as Trump has continued to push a false narrative of election denialism — as he did Friday in Harrisburg when he wrongly claimed he won Pennsylvania twice. But others hope voters who have some skepticism about elections or susceptibility to misinformation can be reached simply by demystifying the process of how elections work.