THE false claims of voter fraud in Pennsylvania fueled fears that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump could try again to reverse the election results there or in other battleground states, which will likely determine the winner next Tuesday.
Opinion polls, both nationally and in the seven closely divided states, show that Trump is in a tight race with Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris four days before election day.
Trump continues to claim that his 2020 defeat in front of Democratic President Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud in several states that Trump lostwhile he and his supporters spread unfounded allegations about this election in Pennsylvania.
Similar talk of voter fraud after the last presidential elections led to a Violent mob of Trump supporters wants to attack the US Capitol January 6, 2021, search stop or influence Congress’ counting of electoral votes which determine who becomes president.
This Thursday, Trump escalated his baseless accusations that investigations into suspicious voter registration forms are evidence of voter fraud. Some of his supporters alleged voter suppression when long lines formed this week to receive mail-in ballots.
“This sows the seeds of attempts to overturn an election,” Kyle Miller, a strategist at the advocacy group Protect Democracy, told Reuters. “We saw it in 2020 and I think the lesson that Trump and his allies have learned since then is that they need to implement these ideas from the beginning.”
State officials and democracy advocates have argued that These incidents show that the system is working as expected. A judge extended the deadline for mail-in ballots in Bucks County, north of Philadelphia, by three days after the former US president’s campaign team filed a complaint that some voters were turned away before the voting deadline Tuesday.
Election officials discovered potentially fraudulent registrations in Lancaster and York counties, which led to investigations by local security forces. There is no evidence that these requests resulted in illegal votes.
Prepare to attribute the loss to fraud
At recent rallies, Trump has taken pains to tell his supporters that expect a big win on Tuesday, emphasizing that he could only imagine losing “if it was a corrupt election.”
This series of assertions from Trump has raised fears that he is once again preparing to blame election fraud on a possible defeat in Pennsylvaniathe largest of seven states that will likely decide the outcome of the election.
In a message posted on social media on Thursday, he wrote: “We caught them cheating big time in Pennsylvania.” and demanded criminal prosecution.
The unique method of electing a president in the United States, rooted in the Constitution adopted in 1789, gives Trump the possibility of attempting to undermine election results at the local, state and national levels.
In 2020, Trump’s team attempted to file 60 fraud claims in several states, without success. But the experience has prepared lawyers on both sides for another attempt this year.
If Trump supporters overturn or delay any adverse results in the courts or favorable state legislatures, they could prevent the duly elected Harris from taking office.
Some U.S. states are warning local and county officials not to intervene illegally or refuse to certify results. But the arbitrator who would decide in such a case would be the Supreme Court of the United States, composed of nine members.
With six conservative justices, including three appointed by Trump, the court has already handed a victory to the former president in his bid to gain criminal immunity for acts committed as president.
