Philly’s head of elections speaks out after Trump’s call to ‘guard the vote’ in the city

Philadelphia’s head of elections assured the public on Sunday that the 2024 presidential election will be “completely fair and accurate” after former President Donald Trump urged followers over the weekend to “go into” cities like Philly to “guard the vote.”

The former president has repeatedly alleged electoral wrongdoing in both Detroit and Philadelphia, heavily Democratic cities with substantial Black populations that helped swing their respective states toward President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. At a campaign stop in Ankeny, Iowa, on Saturday, he urged those in the audience to take action, naming Philly, Detroit, and Atlanta.

Lisa Deeley, who chairs the Philadelphia City Commissioners, the three-member body that oversees the city’s elections, responded on Sunday, reiterating that 2020′s results were “completely fair and accurate and that is what we will continue to deliver in 2024.”

“I can only assume it is to try and sow doubt about the validity of the election results,” Deeley wrote in the statement.

No credible evidence of electoral malfeasance in any city exists.

When reached by The Inquirer, Deeley said that she felt the need to respond to Trump’s comments simply “because he said it.”

“When a former president is spreading disinformation, it’s up to us to be truth tellers,” said Deeley.

Deeley said she expects 2024 to be operationally smoother than 2020, both because the pandemic has receded and because her office has much more practice with higher volumes of mail ballots.

Like many Pennsylvania jurisdictions, Philadelphia’s vote count took several days in 2020. The counting was marked by heated protests by supporters of both the former president and Biden.

Deeley said her office hasn’t received any threats and doesn’t foresee any operational challenges — at least not yet.

“I would say that the former president is starting the calls out of his playbook a little early this time,” she said.