Decision 2020

President Trump’s campaign files federal lawsuit against Pennsylvania over mail-in ballots

PITTSBURGH — “Free and fair elections are essential to the right of Americans to choose through their vote whom they elect to represent them.” That’s the first line of a federal lawsuit filed against every county election office in Pennsylvania by the Republican National Committee, President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign, and Republican state representatives.

You can customize your WPXI News App to receive alerts for Decision 2020 news. CLICK HERE to find out how.

The lawsuit said “unmonitored by-mail voting is the single greatest threat to free and fair elections.” It said mail-in voting has already led to “the disenfranchisement of voters, questions about the accuracy of election results, and ultimately chaos heading into the upcoming November 3, 2020 General Election.” The suit said mail-in voting allows widespread election fraud.

Allegheny County is specifically named in the lawsuit due to issues where some people were sent multiple ballots because of a glitch in the state’s system. The suit also mentions former Rep. Austin Murphy being indicted and convicted in Fayette County for forging absentee ballots for residents of a nursing home. The former police chief of Harmar Township, Richard Toney, is also named in the lawsuit. Toney pleaded guilty in 2014 to illegally soliciting absentee ballots to benefit his wife in a town council election.

>>>RELATED: Allegheny Co. man says he received two mail-in ballots for June primary

The lawsuit alleges parts of the state arbitrarily stopped and started counting ballots, chose random locations where ballots could be returned before to the June 2 primary, and many of those locations did not have poll workers present.

“Election integrity should not be a partisan issue, yet Democrats are consistently trying to cheat and manipulate election rules to undermine safeguards and security around the November election. President Trump is firmly committed to ensuring that every eligible person has the opportunity to vote once and that Americans’ votes are not diluted by fraud in new systems Democrats are trying to hastily push on the American people,” said Jenna Ellis, senior legal adviser to Donald J. Trump President, Inc., in a news release.

CLICK HERE to read the lawsuit for yourself.