Trump campaign sues Philadelphia over mail-in voting offices
U.S. President Donald Trump participates in the first presidential debate against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden at the Health Education Campus of Case Western Reserve University on September 29, 2020 in Cleveland, Ohio. This is the first
HARRISBURG, Pa. - President Donald Trump’s campaign followed through on a threat to sue Philadelphia, filing papers in court Thursday night over city officials preventing campaign representatives from watching people registering to vote or filling out mail-in ballots in election offices there.
The lawsuit comes amid Trump claiming that he can only lose the crucial battleground state of Pennsylvania if Democrats cheat and, as he did in 2016′s campaign, suggesting that the Democratic bastion of Philadelphia needs to be watched closely for election fraud.
The 14-page lawsuit, filed in a state court in Philadelphia, revolves around the question of what rights there are for campaign representatives to watch people in election offices where they can register to vote, apply for mail-in ballots, fill them out or turn them in.
“Bad things are happening in Philadelphia,” the campaign’s lawsuit said. “While transparency and accountability are hallmarks of election integrity, the actions of Philadelphia election officials to date have undermined election integrity by shrouding the casting of ballots in secrecy.”
The campaign is asking to be able to assign representatives to observe inside satellite election offices that Philadelphia began opening Tuesday around the city to help collect what is expected to be an avalanche of mail-in ballots in the Nov. 3 presidential election.
But election lawyers, city officials and the state’s top elections official all say that there is no right under Pennsylvania law, even for a certified poll watcher, to watch people do things like register to vote or fill out a mail-in ballot.
Those rights, they say, are limited to certified campaign representatives to observe voting at a polling place on Election Day or the opening of absentee and mail-in ballots in an election office.
Some recent Pennsylvania polls show Trump and Biden in a competitive race, while others have Biden slightly ahead.
Philadelphia on Tuesday opened the first seven of what is expected to be 17 satellite election offices. The offices are a new creation, deemed to be legal under state law last month by the state Supreme Court in a lawsuit brought by the state Democratic Party.
Trump campaign employees promptly showed up, insisting they be allowed to go in and observe the activity inside. However, city election officials — including a Republican member of a three-member city election board — prevented them, although they offered the campaign a tour of the facilities to let them see how they operate.'
MORE: 'Bad things happen in Philadelphia': President Trump calls out Philly during presidential debate
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Follow Marc Levy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/timelywriter.