Benedictine Sisters of Erie fighting claim on social media of voter fraud at monastery

(This story was updated to accurately reflect the most current information.)

The Benedictine Sisters of Erie are fighting back after a man who encourages Republican voters used social media to accuse the nuns of fraud.

In a post on X, Cliff Maloney, the founder of The Pennsylvania Chase, said that a member of his organization knocked on a door where 53 voters are registered and "Turns out it's the Benedictine Sisters of Erie and NO ONE lives there."

The post is an apparent reference to the Erie Benedictines' Mount Saint Benedict Monastery, 6101 East Lake Road, Harborcreek Township, where 55 of the religious congregation's 67 sisters live. The monastery also is the site of a chapel and offices.

Benedictine sisters: Initial post 'blatantly false'

“We want to call Cliff Maloney to account for his blatantly false post that accuses our sisters of fraud," Sister Stephanie Schmidt, prioress, said in a news release that was also posted to the sisters' Facebook page. "We do live at Mount Saint Benedict Monastery and a simple web search would alert him to our active presence in a number of ministries in Erie. We also want to alert those who subscribe to X and other social media platforms to be vigilant and seek additional information before accepting these posts as truth. A free republic depends on free and fair elections. It depends equally on a discerning and conscientious citizenry who do not unquestioningly accept the word of anyone who has a social media platform."

Schmidt told the Erie Times-News that the monastery was built in the late 1960s and was occupied by the sisters by 1970. Benedictine Sisters have been in the Erie area since 1856.

She said the majority of the 55 Benedictines who live at the monastery are registered to vote. Schmidt said Maloney's post listed the names of more than 50 sisters, calling most of them "liberal" and a few "conservative."

Who are Cliff Maloney and The PA Chase?

Maloney is the founder of The PA Chase. Its website says, "The project is a dedicated initiative aimed at matching the Democrat’s tactics for mail-in ballot success and securing a significant victory for liberty-loving Republicans in the 2024 election." The site also says it will hire "GOP ballot chasers" to knock on 500,000 doors in key target districts from Sept. 1 through Nov. 5, which is Election Day, seeking to increase the Republican share of mail-in ballots from 20% to 33% statewide, "a significant jump that could determine the outcome of the 2024 election."

The Benedictine Sisters, in their statement, said they take no issue with knocking on doors to increase citizen participation in elections.

"We do take issue with claiming false information as true in an effort to discredit differing views or affiliations," the release stated.

Schmidt questioned Maloney's story, telling the Erie Times-News that the monastery's main entrance has outer glass doors that are unlocked and then inner glass doors that the person working the switchboard opens. She said none of the sisters on switchboard duty had any remembrance of someone going there as Maloney described.

"There's no way that story makes sense," she said.

Maloney, Benedictines both hint at legal action

In Maloney's post, he told his 58,400 X followers that "our attorney’s (sic) are reviewing this right now. We will not let the Dems count on illegal votes."

The Benedictines fired back in their release, stating that "we are also pursuing legal counsel regarding this publicdefamation."

Schmidt said the Erie Benedictines have contacted a lawyer they've worked with before and are waiting to see how this all unfolds.

"We're doing this in defense of the truth," she said, encouraging people not to believe everything they read and to do their homework.

Goat Fest: Erie Benedictine Sisters bringing back goats to help remove invasive plants

In a later post on X, Maloney stated: "I appreciate the public reply from the church claiming that their members are legal voters" and "Once we have proof, we will be content."

Schmidt said the Erie Benedictines haven't heard from Maloney directly.

"He has made no attempt to reach me," she said Thursday afternoon.

Dana Massing can be reached at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie Benedictine Sisters: Voter fraud accusation 'blatantly false'