Donald Trump falsely claimed 20% of Pa. mail ballots are fraudulent. Larry Krasner and Josh Shapiro pushed back.

A day before former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are set to meet in Philadelphia for their first debate, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner and Gov. Josh Shapiro responded to Trump’s latest false claims about voter fraud in Pennsylvania.

Trump, who is facing criminal charges for efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, made a false claim on Truth Social on Sunday that 20% of Pennsylvania’s mail ballots are fraudulent, citing an interview conducted by former Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson.

“We will WIN Pennsylvania by a lot, unless the Dems are allowed to CHEAT,” he wrote.

There is no evidence of widespread cheating or voter fraud in Pennsylvania’s mail voting or election administration, which Trump has targeted since he lost the state to President Joe Biden in 2020.

Asked about Trump’s claims during a Monday news conference, Krasner said misinformation, regardless of the source, was troubling.

“I think it is always problematic when people say things to try to undermine confidence in the election,” Krasner said. “Any evidence that either candidate has to support a suggestion that there’s a problem in this election, I want to see it. And I haven’t.”

Shapiro refuted Trump’s claims about mail voting on X Monday, noting that ballots had not yet been sent and that the state audits every election to ensure votes are legitimate.

“If Trump really wants to start this again, let me remind him of 2020: we beat him in court 43 times,” Shapiro said, referring to his work defending the results of the last presidential election when he was Pennsylvania attorney general. “We’re ready to defend our democracy again,” Shapiro added.

At a “Protect the Vote” event in Montgomery County Monday night, Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley did not directly respond to a question about whether Trump’s post would undermine RNC efforts to encourage mail voting. Instead, he discussed ongoing RNC efforts to monitor the election and recruit volunteers as poll watchers and workers.

“What we want to do is make sure, going forward in this election cycle, that we are there. We want to be there when the votes are being cast and when the votes are being counted,” Whatley said.

Krasner held Monday’s news conference to detail his office’s election protection task force, and was joined by members of the Philadelphia Office of the City Commissioners as well as representatives from the Philadelphia Police Department and Philadelphia Sheriff’s Office. They discussed the security of Philadelphia’s elections, and warned potential bad actors that interfering with another person’s vote is illegal.

On Saturday, Trump also posted on X that he would be watching the 2024 election results and voting process closely and pledged to prosecute “those people that cheated” if he wins the White House in November.

Krasner said he was making an effort to speak more and earlier about election crimes in response to lies about election fraud in 2020 and efforts to interfere with the vote, including the actions of two men who were convicted of carrying guns near the vote count.

At this point, he said, he’s confident things will stay under control for the election.

“In light of that, as well as various public comments that have been made by one candidate or another, our job is to protect the people in the city of Philadelphia, to protect democracy,” Krasner said. “We are, in this area as well, trying to do more, trying to do it better, trying to start earlier.”

As soon as next week, counties in Pennsylvania will be allowed to start mailing ballots to voters across the state. Officials reminded voters that if they encounter an issue they can call the district attorney’s task force at 215-686-9641.