President Donald Trump’s campaign announced further lawsuits in Pennsylvania surrounding the tallying of mail-in ballots Wednesday, meaning the campaign now has pending litigation in all three remaining rust belt states.
The campaign has also announced lawsuits or recount requests in Michigan and Wisconsin as of Wednesday. Election officials called Wisconsin for Democratic nominee Joe Biden on Wednesday afternoon, saying he won by roughly 20,000 votes. The Trump campaign has now heavily set its sights on Pennsylvania, where it seeks to invalidate mail-in ballots arriving after Election Day. (RELATED: Here’s What The Election Looks Like, As Battleground States Remain Undecided)
“President Trump’s Campaign is moving to intervene in the existing Supreme Court litigation over the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s unlawful extension of the mail-in ballot receipt deadline.” – Justin Clark, Trump Deputy Campaign Manager pic.twitter.com/wSrSn6CTl2
— Stef Kight (@StefWKight) November 4, 2020
The Trump campaign also claimed to have won Pennsylvania on twitter Wednesday. Trump has not won the state.
President @realDonaldTrump wins #Pennsylvania! pic.twitter.com/5BUwYMxaby
— Team Trump (Text VOTE to 88022) (@TeamTrump) November 4, 2020
The Trump campaign named Democratic PA Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar in a press release regarding the suits, accusing her of changing election laws without the consent of the state legislature.
Specifically, the campaign argues Boockvar’s decision to extend the window for receiving mail-in ballots past election day is unconstitutional. The campaign also argues it was illegal for her to extend the window for absentee voters to provide any missing voter I.D. information to well after the election.
Lawsuits also say Republican Party election observers were not granted “meaningful” access to observe the counting of votes in PA.
Trump’s legal action in PA mirrors that in Michigan, where his campaign has sued to stop the counting of all votes until courts make a determination. There the campaign also claims they have not been granted sufficient access to observe the tallying of ballots.
“As votes in Michigan continue to be counted, the presidential race in the state remains extremely tight as we always knew it would be,” campaign manager Bill Stepien wrote in a statement. “President Trump’s campaign has not been provided with meaningful access to numerous counting locations to observe the opening of ballots and the counting process, as guaranteed by Michigan law.”