[US Election 2024]
Claims of Mail-in Ballot Manipulation in Key Battleground Pennsylvania
"A Strategy to Overturn Results if Defeated in the Presidential Election" Highlighted
With the November 5 U.S. presidential election fast approaching, former President Donald Trump and Republican forces have raised allegations of election fraud occurring in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state. Local media are evaluating this as groundwork to overturn the election results through lawsuits if they lose.
On the 31st (local time), according to U.S. political media outlets Politico and The Hill, the Trump presidential campaign claimed via social media (SNS) the day before that voter obstruction and intimidation occurred in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. They said that people trying to apply for mail-in ballots crowded just before the deadline, but election officials turned some of them away.
In response, Bucks County election officials explained, "Contrary to what was described on social media, everyone who lined up by 5 p.m. had their mail-in ballot applications accepted," adding, "There was a brief communication error that caused some applicants to be initially rejected, but it was promptly corrected." The Trump campaign filed a lawsuit requesting an extension of the mail-in ballot application period, which the court has accepted.
This is not the first time election fraud allegations have targeted Pennsylvania. Earlier, on the 29th, former President Trump claimed at a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, that potentially fake voter registration applications had been submitted in Lancaster County and York County, asserting, "They were caught holding 2,600 fake ballots."
Previously, Lancaster County election officials announced last week that they were verifying about 2,500 voter registration applications suspected to have been filled out by the same person, but stated that no evidence of fake ballots or widespread fraud had been found. In York County, officials recently received a batch of voter registration applications from an organization and are checking for any issues, but former President Trump has labeled this as election fraud. He also claimed on social media the day before, "Pennsylvania is committing fraud on an unprecedented scale and getting caught," urging, "Judicial authorities must act immediately."
Local media view former President Trump's challenges to election procedures as preparatory moves to contest the results if he loses the election. Politico assessed, "If Trump loses in Pennsylvania, he is already laying the groundwork to frame the outcome as election fraud and overturn the results." The New York Times (NYT) analyzed, "There have been over 90 lawsuits filed nationwide by Republican groups this year concerning election rules and practices, such as voter list management and mail-in ballot submission deadlines," adding, "These efforts aim to exclude potential voters likely to support the Democrats and establish a legal basis to challenge the election results later."
Meanwhile, on the same day, former President Trump filed a $10 billion (approximately 14 trillion won) lawsuit against U.S. terrestrial broadcaster CBS, accusing it of "partisan and illegal election and voter interference." This relates to Vice President Kamala Harris's appearance on CBS's flagship news program '60 Minutes' last month, where she allegedly gave non-responsive answers ("word salad") to questions about the Israel-Hamas war, which the broadcaster edited. A CBS spokesperson denied the allegations and announced plans for legal action.
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