Judge extends in-person voting option in Pennsylvania after Trump lawsuit | US elections 2024

A Pennsylvania judge sided with Donald Trump's campaign on Wednesday and approved expanding in-person voting in a Philadelphia suburb, where long lines on the final day led to complaints that voters were disenfranchised by an unprepared election office became.

A lawsuit was filed this morning calling for an extension of the deadline from 5 p.m. Tuesday in Bucks County to today after long lines at county election offices on the final day for applications resulted in security guards cutting the line and leaving some waiting announced that they would not be able to apply.

Videos of the scenes were shared widely on social media, fueling rumors of voter suppression.

The Trump campaign was joined by the Republican National Committee (RNC) and Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick in the lawsuit, which alleged that voters waiting outside election offices for mail-in ballots were turned away empty-handed and asked to leave after the deadline was Tuesday at 5 p.m.

“This is a direct violation of Pennsylvanians’ right to cast their vote — and all voters have the right to stay in line,” the Trump campaign said.

Judge Jeffrey Trauger said in a one-page order that voters in Bucks County who want to request an early absentee ballot now have until Friday.

The queues for late mail-in ballots were due to Pennsylvania not having an on-site early voting system in certain locations, as some other states do. Instead, voters can request their ballots from election offices upon request before filling them out and submitting them on site. The process takes about ten minutes.

The flood of late applicants overwhelmed poll workers at the Bucks County Administration Building in Doylestown and led to a long line that broke around 2:45 p.m. Tuesday, according to CBS.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley said Tuesday at a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, that Democratic election officials were trying to suppress Republican votes.

“Democratic election officials see our numbers. You see our involvement. You see us breaking early voting records across Pennsylvania,” he said. “They are terribly afraid. And they want to stop our momentum. We will not allow them to suppress our voices.”

In a statement, Bucks County acknowledged that there was a “misunderstanding” on the part of officials, which resulted in those waiting “being told briefly that they could not be accommodated.” However, this was subsequently corrected and allowed applications to be submitted.

“Contrary to what is portrayed on social media, if you stand in line to submit an absentee ballot application by 5:00 p.m., you will have the opportunity to submit your absentee ballot application,” the county said.

The legal action raised the prospect of more potential controversy after Election Day in Pennsylvania – arguably the key battleground state in next Tuesday's election – after Trump baselessly accused election officials of fraud.

“Pennsylvania is cheating and getting caught on a scale never seen before,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, without providing any evidence. “REPORT FRAUD TO THE AUTHORITIES. Law enforcement must act NOW!”

The accusation was denied by Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who accused the former president of trying to undermine public trust in the integrity of election officials.

“In 2020, Donald Trump repeatedly attacked our elections,” posted Shapiro, who was Pennsylvania’s attorney general four years ago when Trump tried to overturn Joe Biden’s victory. “He is now trying to use the same playbook to foment chaos… we will have free and fair, secure elections again – and the will of the people will be respected.”

Most polls show Kamala Harris with a tiny lead over Trump in Pennsylvania, which has more electoral votes than any other battleground state and where both candidates have campaigned more than any other state.