RNC chairman says Trump campaign will sue Bucks County over mail-in ballot mix-up

Updated Pennsylvania 2024 ballot and envelope (Capital-Star photo)

The chairman of the Republican National Committee said Tuesday at a rally for former President Donald Trump in Allentown that the Trump campaign intends to file a lawsuit against Bucks County for denying voters who lined up to apply for on-demand mail-in ballots.

“Folks, this is what’s happening: Democratic election officials are seeing our numbers. They see our turnout. They see us breaking early voting records across Pennsylvania. They are terrified. And they want to stop our momentum,” said RNC Chairman Michael Whatley. “We will not allow them to suppress our voices. We’re going to fight.”

Whately advised voters to stay in line until about 7:30 p.m., two and a half hours later than the state’s deadline for mail-in ballot applications.

“Donald Trump needs your votes. Donald Trump wants Pennsylvania. And America needs Pennsylvania,” Whatley said.

Bucks County spokesman James O’Malley said officials were notified of the campaign’s intention to sue and had no comment Tuesday.

County officials reported this some once Over the past few days, polling places are not polling places, and the printing of ballots on demand is not early voting. Pennsylvania law does not allow early voting.

Misleading videos, conspiracy theories, confusion on both sides about the difference between ballots on demand and early voting, and unclear guidance from state election officials have created chaos in recent days as Pennsylvania voters have had to apply for ballots. by mail. Although officials said anyone who was in line to apply to vote by 5 pm on Tuesday was able to apply.

Voters lined up Tuesday at local election offices across Pennsylvania to apply for mail-in ballots ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline. Many voters didn’t realize they had a line to apply for a mail-in ballot; they thought they were standing in line to vote, just like on Election Day.

In the process of receiving a mail-in ballot, each voter applies to vote by mail and receives a mail-in ballot on the same day. This may take 10 minutes or more per voter. The voter can then fill out the ballot and return it at the location or take the ballot home and return it the day before Election Day. Most voters chose to fill out their ballots on site.

As a result, long queues formed. And in places like Doylestown in Bucks County, county security guards had to split the line around 2:45 p.m. County officials said there were some misunderstandings early on, but everyone should be able to apply to vote by mail. People who came after voting stopped did not receive their ballots that day.

Videos of security guards setting up signs dividing those lines or telling voters they wouldn’t be able to vote quickly went viral on social media, with many saying they showed voters being denied entry into offices altogether. Some posts containing the video have received more than a million views and received responses from Elon Musk and right-wing influencers. Whatley appears to have cited them when he announced his intention to sue.

“Contrary to what is portrayed on social media, if you get in line by 5:00 p.m. to apply for a mail-in ballot, you will have the opportunity to apply for a mail-in ballot,” Bucks County. Officials announced this in a post on their government’s Facebook page. “We understand that due to a miscommunication, people queuing to apply for a postal vote were briefly told they could not be accommodated. In fact, today these voters were given the opportunity to apply to vote by mail.”

However, the appearance of the crowd was not completely unexpected. Last Friday, the State Department emailed county election officials urging them to prepare for a crush of voters applying for mail-in ballots and demanding ballots before the deadline.

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The email directed election officials to “ensure that every voter in line by 5 p.m. is given the opportunity to request and submit a ballot” on the last day to do so. “This exceptionally busy election cycle may require you to consider logistical issues that you may not have previously had to consider,” the email said.

On Tuesday, Schmidt assured Pennsylvania voters at a virtual press conference that “if you’re in line today and the 5 p.m. deadline approaches, counties should give you the option to apply for a mail-in ballot.”

But problems with lines slowing down for on-demand ballots have already begun.

On Saturday, some Bucks County voters who lined up to receive on-demand ballots were turned away before the election office closed because the lines grew too long.

State Sen. Frank Farry (R-Bucks) said voter reports that day prompted him to issue a memo announcing his intention to support legislation that would require county election offices to serve anyone in line by the posted closing time.

“The lines are so long because the process is obviously cumbersome and, frankly, the system is broken,” Farry said.

Farry characterized the proposed legislation as something of a stopgap measure in the absence of more comprehensive legislation to reform early voting.

There is no chance that Farry’s bill will be considered before the election because there simply aren’t enough session days scheduled for it to pass both chambers that he knows of.

“I’m sure after this election, maybe everyone can sit down and think about how we could do things better,” Farry said.

For the past two years, with Democrats controlling the House and Republicans controlling the Senate, reaching consensus on any legislation has been difficult. Democrats in the State House proposed a number of measures to reform the electoral system it would allow pre-registration of votes by mail and expand early in-person voting, although the latter would not take effect until 2027. Senate Republicans, however, have said they will not support any major changes to the election process. law unless they include stricter voter identification requirements, which Democrats largely oppose.

A check The pre-canvassing authorization actually passed the House of Representatives this year, but was not taken up by the Senate.

“I encourage you to please be patient with county election officials today,” Schmidt said at a news conference Tuesday. “They are all working hard to ensure that every registered voter who wants to vote by mail on demand can do so.”

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