Edward McKinley is reporting for the Times Union former Congressman John Sweeney is currently at center of the presidential ballot battle. Sweeney spoke with the Times Union by phone from Philadelphia Thu., Nov. 5. At that time he accused the Democrats of manufacturing votes and denying Republicans the opportunity to observe the vote counting. He acknowledged the accusations lack supporting evidence, but said this was because of a Democratic plot to block Republicans from gathering evidence in Pennsylvania. He said the vote counting taking place in Nevada and Wisconsin should be enough to make people suspicious of what is going on there. Sweeney said, “I would say the Democrats have a history of trying to pull these kinds of shenanigans and it dates back over generations," Sweeney said. "If the president and his team were not undertaking these efforts, then they weren’t doing their due diligence.” Sweeney is resident of Saratoga County and he represented the Albany region in Congress for four terms before losing to now-Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in 2006. Sweeney began working for the Trump campaign in 2016. He provided legal assistance during the recount of Wisconsin in 2016, and he assisted Trump's transition to the presidency in November of that year. Read the full story in the Times Union.