Former president Donald Trump‘s campaign is suing a Pennsylvania county for allegedly “turning away” Republican voters, according to Michael Whatley, head of the Republican National Committee (RNC).
Talking at a presidential nominee Trump’s rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday night, Whatley said that the former president’s campaign had just filed a “huge” lawsuit against Bucks County, where on that same day voters formed long lines to apply for on-demand mail-in ballots in time for the November 5 election.
Tuesday was the official deadline to apply for on-demand mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania, but some voters complained on social media about being sent away before the 5 p.m. deadline because of the long lines.
Bucks County wrote on X that, “due to a miscommunication,” several voters in line to apply for the mail-in ballot “were briefly told they could not be accommodated,” but said that those who were in line by 5 p.m. were able to fill out a ballot application and would be mailed the ballot or would be able to pick it up themselves at a later point this week.
“Contrary to what is being depicted on social media, if you are in line by 5 p.m. for an on-demand mail-in ballot application, you will have the opportunity to submit your application for a mail-in ballot,” the Bucks County Government wrote on the social media platform. The ballots need to be returned by 8 p.m. on November 5, Election Day.
Newsweek contacted Trump’s 2024 campaign team, the RNC and Bucks County for comment by email and phone on Wednesday morning.
Voters line up to apply for their mail-in or absentee ballots outside on October 29, 2024 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The RNC said the Trump campaign has sued Bucks County, in Pennsylvania, for “turning away our voters.”
Jeff Swensen/Getty Images
Confusion around who could apply for the mail-in ballot in Bucks County has played into the Republican Party‘s legal strategy to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election’s results. On Tuesday, the RNC said it filed 130 lawsuits in 26 states ahead of Election Day.
“Democrat election officials are seeing our number. They are seeing our turnout. They are seeing us breaking early vote records across Pennsylvania,” Whatley said on Tuesday at the PPL Center in Allentown.
“They are terrified and they want to stop our momentum. I’m proud tonight to tell you that the Trump Vance campaign has just filed a huge lawsuit against Bucks County for turning away our voters.”
Bucks County courts had no record of the filing as of early on Wednesday, but county spokesperson James O’Malley told Philly Burbs on Tuesday night that the county “had been made aware that litigation may be filed tomorrow [Wednesday].”
Pennsylvania, with its 19 Electoral College votes, is being regarded as possibly the most important battleground state in the 2024 election—and for this reason it’s likely to be the focus of heightened scrutiny and litigation efforts from Trump’s campaign.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Trump claimed that York County in Pennsylvania received “THOUSANDS of potentially FRAUDULENT Voter Registration Forms and Mail-In Ballot Applications from a third party group,” and accused Lancaster County officials of being caught with 2,600 Fake Ballots and Forms, all written by the same person.”
Officials in Lancaster County are currently investigating 2,500 suspected fraudulent voter applications which they said appears to be “an organized effort.” York County has also launched an investigation into an “overabundance” of voter registration forms and requests for mail ballots they’ve received.
Addressing the accusations made by the former president against the two counties, Pennsylvania Democratic Governor Josh Shapiro told CNN‘s Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday night that Trump wanted to create chaos around the election, as he prepares to eventually challenge its result.
“I understand that Donald Trump wants to again use the same playbook where he tries to create chaos and stoke division and fear about our system,” he said. “But again, we will have a free and fair, safe, and secure election in Pennsylvania, and the will of the people will be respected and protected.”
In an interview with ABC News, Bucks County Board of Commissioners’ chair Bob Harvie said that the county was “bracing” for a barrage of lawsuits, having been sued 11 times since the 2020 election already. In 2020, Biden won the county by about 5 percent.
