President Donald Trump’s election campaign filed a revised lawsuit Wednesday asking the Pennsylvania government to simply declare him the winner, days after a previous failed legal battle in the same state.
The new lawsuit alleges GOP poll watchers weren’t allowed meaningful access to observe the vote tallying process. It also requests that the Republican-held state legislature be granted authorization to appoint a suite of electors who would name Trump the victor in the state, according to Politico. Former Vice President Joe Biden was declared the victor in the state with a lead of more than 80,000 votes in the days after Nov. 3, though that result won’t be officially certified until Nov. 23.
Trump’s campaign revised a pivotal Pennsylvania lawsuit seeking to block certification of the state’s election results, adding a proposal that the Republican-controlled state legislature choose the winner instead of voters. https://t.co/3DIrf6tmye via @bpolitics
— Kevin Whitelaw (@KevinWhitelaw1) November 19, 2020
The fresh lawsuit came two days after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled against the campaign’s original lawsuit regarding GOP poll watchers. The campaign is maintaining its claim of standing. (RELATED: Trump Campaign Says It Has Uncovered Enough ‘Fraud’ To Overturn Election Result)
“In contrast to the 2002 International Electoral Standards … the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has struck out in a unique direction among democracies and declared that meaningful observers are not part of verification and votes may be counted without any review by political campaigns and parties,” the lawsuit reads.
The campaign argues that the legislature deciding the result of the election is the proper outcome. The legislature does technically hold the authority to appoint its own electors, however, that process is always done in proportion to how the state’s residents voted.