/
Trump campaign wins legal battle over early voting option in Philadelphia suburb

Trump campaign wins legal battle over early voting option in Philadelphia suburb


Trump campaign wins legal battle over early voting option in Philadelphia suburb

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Pennsylvania judge on Wednesday sided with Donald Trump's campaign and agreed to extend an in-person voting option in suburban Philadelphia where long lines on the final day led to complaints voters were being disenfranchised by an unprepared election office.

Judge Jeffrey Trauger said in a one-page order that Bucks County voters who want to apply for an early mail ballot now have until Friday.

The lawsuit sought a one-day extension, through Wednesday at 5 p.m., for voters to apply in-person for a mail-in ballot. The judge's order permits applications through the close of business on Friday.

Neighboring Lehigh County on Tuesday asked a judge to extend the deadline there by one day, through Wednesday, because road closures in downtown Allentown around Trump's rally blocked access to the elections office. The judge agreed.

In Bucks County, the Trump campaign lawsuit said people who were in line by Tuesday's 5 p.m. deadline to apply in-person for a mail ballot should have been allowed to get a ballot, even after the deadline. However, Bucks County's election office denied voters that right and ordered them to leave, the lawsuit said.

“This is a direct violation of Pennsylvanians’ rights to cast their ballot — and all voters have a right to STAY in line,” the Trump campaign said in a statement.

The Republican National Committee and the campaign of Republican Senate nominee David McCormick joined the lawsuit against Bucks County, where Democrats control the government in a closely politically divided county often seen as a political bellwether.

Pennsylvania does not allow early voting on voting machines in polling places, as some states do.

But Bucks County, like other counties in Pennsylvania, allows voters to apply for a mail-in ballot in-person at the elections office and receive it there. Voters can also fill it out and hand it in at the office.

Voters waited up to three hours on Tuesday. Those still in line at 5 p.m. were told to go home, the lawsuit said.