Trump campaign announces lawsuit against Bucks County over long lines and early cut-offs for voters casting mail ballots
Unlike other states that offer early voting with machines similar to Election Day, Pennsylvania voters who want to cast a ballot early in-person must request a mail ballot, receive it, then cast it.
Former President Donald Trump’s campaign is planning to file a lawsuit against Bucks County over long lines and early cut-offs at county election offices for voters requesting and casting mail ballots, Republican National Committee Chair Michael Whatley announced Tuesday night.
“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,” Whatley announced to the crowd during Trump’s rally in Allentown. “We are going to fight this thing in court, and all we ask of you is to stay in line. Donald Trump needs your votes. Donald Trump needs Pennsylvania. America needs Pennsylvania.”
» READ MORE: Update: Trump sues Bucks County over long lines, cut-offs for voters seeking to cast mail ballots
Though Whatley said the suit had already been filed, it could not be located on Bucks County’s database of court records Tuesday evening.
Over the last several days, Republicans have grown increasingly frustrated with the purple county’s elections officials’ approach to on-demand mail voting, the closest equivalent Pennsylvania has to early in-person voting.
Voters have been regularly turned away from lines to request and cast a mail ballot at the county’s election office and two satellite offices before the end of posted voting hours because the lines had grown so long that it would take staff the rest of the posted hours to work through the voters already in line, county officials said.
A spokesperson for Bucks County declined to comment.
Unlike other states, like Georgia and Wisconsin, that offer early voting with machines similar to Election Day, Pennsylvania voters who want to cast a ballot early in person must request a mail ballot, receive it, and then cast it. The cumbersome process, Bucks County officials say, takes about 12 minutes per voter.
That frustration reached a fever pitch on Tuesday, the deadline for voters to request a mail ballot in Pennsylvania. A top Trump campaign staffer posted a video of election workers cutting off the line at 2:30 p.m. Republicans argued voters who are in line by the end of posted hours should be allowed to request and cast their mail ballot, like they would be on Election Day. But Pennsylvania law does not clearly state that those in line to request a mail ballot by the 5 p.m. deadline should be allowed to request and cast that ballot.
Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt had urged counties to help ensure voters who were in line were able to cast their ballots Tuesday. Ultimately, Bucks County cut off the line for voters requesting and returning a mail ballot around 2:30 p.m., but continued to allow any voter who was in line by 5 p.m. to request a mail ballot.
The popularity of on-demand mail voting this year has been driven in large part by voters who want to cast a ballot early but are wary of the U.S. Postal Service after former President Donald Trump spent years sowing doubt in mail voting systems.