Pennsylvania voters frustrated over mail ballots after Bucks County site closed early
Fox News' Bryan Llenas provides details on voters' frustrations over on demand mail ballot voting in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where the line was cut off hours early.
The Trump campaign notched a legal victory on Wednesday, when a Pennsylvania court issued an injunction extending mail-in ballot applications by one day following a lawsuit from the Trump campaign.
"PENNSYLVANIA LAWSUIT VICTORY We just won the Trump Campaign/RNC lawsuit against Bucks County, PA. We will now have extended early in-person mail-voting through November 1st — three extra days. We will keep fighting. Go vote! Stay in line!" Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley posted to X on Wednesday.
Fox News Digital obtained a copy of the injunction, which detailed that the Bucks County Board of Elections violated the Pennsylvania Elections Code when officials turned voters away on Oct. 29 after 5 p.m. as they attempted to apply and obtain mail-in ballots before the deadline.
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Bucks County injunction (Fox News Digital )
The Bucks County Court of Common Please ruled that voters who wish to apply and obtain a mail-in ballot are able to do so before the close of business on Nov. 1. Bucks County is a key area of the battleground state, nestled outside of Philadelphia in the suburbs.
"We have heard that we won this lawsuit, and Bucks County has extended pre-Election Day voting through November 1. This is a landmark victory that will allow our voters to cast those votes pursuant to Pennsylvania law. The RNC will leave no stone unturned in ensuring a fair, accurate and secure and transparent election, not just for Republican voters, but for all voters," Whatley added during a press call on Wednesday.
The Board of Elections filed a request for clarification later Wednesday regarding the special injunction, specifically calling on the court to clarify that the extension applies to its Doylestown location, and that the extension will run between the business hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Oct. 30-Nov. 1.
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Trump sued the Bucks County Board of Elections on Tuesday, claiming officials turned away voters who were waiting in line to apply in-person for a mail ballot. When the 5 p.m. deadline hit, the voters still in line were denied the opportunity to apply and ordered to leave, according to the suit.
Former President Trump speaks at a rally at New York City's Madison Square Garden, on Oct. 27, 2024. (AP )
"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 Republican Senate candidate Dave McCormick's campaign had joined the lawsuit against Bucks County's BOE.
Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt also celebrated the legal history during a call with the press on Wednesday.
"Just two days ago, a Trump supporter was arrested in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, for encouraging voters to stay in line, and we have seen multiple other instances of voters being turned away early in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. That's why last night, the Trump campaign and the RNC, we filed a lawsuit against Bucks County to provide more early voting opportunities, and we just won that lawsuit just about 30 minutes ago," Leavitt said.
Videos shared with Fox News Digital as well as several posted on X appeared to show Bucks County Emergency Services Police instructing voters that the line outside centers in Quakertown and Doylestown would be curtailed prior to the close-of-business.
Ballot applications were to be accepted until the 5 p.m. ET deadline, but new arrivals were reportedly turned away as of 2:45 p.m. ET according to CBS News and other accounts.
A mail-in ballot for the 2024 General Election in the United States is returned at a Voters Services satellite office at the Chester County Government Services Center, Friday, Oct. 25, 2024, in West Chester, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum) (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
After Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro posted on X Tuesday afternoon that the deadline for requesting vote-by-mail ballots was 5 p.m., commenters replied by sharing several of the videos and asking "what is this?"
"What are you doing about this, Governor Shapiro?" asked Trump campaign official James Blair via X. "This is Bucks County Emergency Services shutting down the line in Doylestown right now at ~2:30 PM. This is suppressive and intimidating."
"If you are in line at a county elections office by 5 P.M., counties must give you an opportunity to apply for your mail ballot," Shapiro wrote in a separate post.
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (R) shakes hands with former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump during a presidential debate at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pa., on Sept. 10, 2024. ( SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Leavitt continued in her comments Wednesday that the campaign has "engaged in more than 130 election integrity lawsuits across the country this cycle" in the effort "to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat."
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"And we are going to continue to fight for that until the last ballot is counted. Today's big victory really represents a defeat for the Democrats' voter suppression efforts. They are seeing the early voting numbers from Republicans in key states across the country, and we are very much again, focused on securing the vote for all Americans," she continued.
Whatley added that ordering voters away from applying for mail-in ballots was "extraordinarily problematic."
"When you tell people that they need to leave, that they should not vote, while it is legal for them to vote, that is extraordinarily problematic. And I don't know, and I don't care whether that was disproportionately affecting Republicans or Democrats. The fact is, you had voters who were in line in a position to legally cast their votes, who were told by officials not to do so. And it is, it is good to see that the court has agreed with us that that is problematic and ordered Bucks County to have additional days of early vote as a remedy for it," he said on the press call.
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