Donald Trump, the former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate, has raised allegations of election fraud in the key battleground state of Pennsylvania as the upcoming election approaches. He has been asserting that he holds a significant lead over Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. This has led to speculations that he is setting the stage to dispute the election outcome, similar to his actions following the 2020 presidential election.
According to political news outlets like Politico and The Hill, Trump’s campaign claims that voter intimidation and harassment occurred in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Allegations have been made that officials sent some voters away as they rushed to request mail-in ballots before the deadline. In response, Trump’s campaign filed a lawsuit on October 29th to extend the application period, which the court granted.
At a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, on October 29th, Trump alleged that fake voter registration applications were submitted in Lancaster County and York County. Local authorities in Lancaster County had announced that they were investigating around 2,500 voter registration applications for potential issues but found no evidence of fake ballots or widespread fraud. York County is also scrutinizing a batch of registration applications received from a third-party group, but Trump labeled these processes as election fraud.
Trump claimed, “They have already started cheating in Lancaster. We caught them with 2,600 ballots.” On social media, he further alleged that Pennsylvania was engaging in large-scale fraud and urged authorities to act immediately.
Trump’s assertions have been interpreted by Politico as groundwork to contest an unfavorable election result by alleging fraud. Additionally, media outlets have noted that Trump’s statements to his supporters, asserting a decisive lead and the possibility of a fraud-free landslide victory, are meant to incite refusal to accept election results among his base.
On October 31st, at a rally in New Mexico, Trump claimed that he was leading by large margins in all polls. Previously, at a rally in Atlanta on October 28th, he urged supporters to secure a margin large enough to prevent manipulation, and in North Carolina the next day, he claimed to be receiving more support than in 2016 or 2020, expressing disbelief at the notion of a close race.
When questioned multiple times about whether he would accept the election results, Trump has refused to provide a clear answer, continuing to deny his 2020 election defeat. He currently faces charges in the Supreme Court and Georgia State Court related to attempting to overturn the election.