Trump stokes voter fraud fears in Pennsylvania as counties investigate and state urges patience

The former president Donald Trump claimed on Tuesday that two Pennsylvania counties were experiencing voter fraud, despite the fact that both officials at these counties maintain they are still investigating possible issues related to voter applications.

The Republican National Committee and the former president appear to be preparing to challenge the results of the election if Trump wins. The former president didn’t wait for the York and Lancaster county investigation results before spreading fears about allegedly fraud voter registration applications on social media, even though Pennsylvania’s secretary asked for patience. In a different instance, the RNC sided with the Trump campaign to push claims of “voter suppression” as election officials in this critical battleground resisted.

“Wow! York County, Pennsylvania received THOUSANDS potentially FRUADULENT voter registration forms and mail-in ballot applications from a third-party group, Trump wrote in a Tuesday post on X, which received more than 1 million views within a few short hours.

This is on top of Lancaster County having 2600 fake ballots and forms, all written by one person. What is going on in Pennsylvania? The Law Enforcement should do their jobs immediately!!! WOW!! “, he continued.

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Trump and RNC officials are making more claims in the run-up to the November 5 election about possible issues with Pennsylvania mail-in votes. The former president’s supporters have also targeted mail-in voting in court.

Officials from the state and counties have attempted to assure voters that any issues with the mail in ballot process are being investigated and that the integrity of the voting process is still to be protected.

Pennsylvania Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro said to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source,” Tuesday night, that these allegations are “more or less the same.” He added that as Pennsylvania’s Attorney General, he had defeated 43 challenges from Trump and his “allies” regarding the 2020 election count.

“I can understand Donald Trump’s desire to use the same strategy where he attempts to create chaos, stoke fear and division about our system. Shapiro said that Pennsylvania will again have a safe and secure, free and fair election, with the will of people respected and protected.

Suspected voter registration fraud under investigation

Law enforcement officials and election officials from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, announced last week that they had discovered “incidents” of suspected voter fraud. The fraud, according the the bipartisan board and district attorney of the county, was likely the result of “a large-scale operation” where registration applications were submitted with duplicate handwriting, inaccurate or unverifiable address.

Officials said that “approximately 2,500 voter registration forms were contained and segregated”, to be reviewed and examined, but they did not specify how many had been found fraudulent.

Officials in Lancaster announced the suspected fraud and said that at least two counties could have received fraudulent voter registration forms.

Greg Monskie, the spokesperson for York County to CNN on Tuesday, refused to confirm whether or not it received fraudulent voter registrations and could not speak about any possible connection to the allegations in Lancaster County.

In a press release, York County Commissioner Julie Wheeler stated that the county received “a large delivery containing thousands election-related material from a third party organization” and “that material appears to include completed voter register forms as well as mail in ballot applications.”

CNN contacted the Lancaster County Board of Elections to get an update on Trump’s newest claims.

As with any submission, our staff will follow a procedure to ensure that all voter registrations or requests for mail-in ballots are legal. Wheeler confirmed that the process was already underway. If suspected fraud is detected, we will notify the District Attorney’s Office which will conduct an investigation.

In a video update on Tuesday, Republican Pennsylvania Secretary of state Al Schmidt acknowledged that investigations were ongoing in York and Lancaster.

He said that the department had been in contact with these counties since they were formed to offer guidance as they conducted their investigations. They will continue to receive support as required.

Election officials respond to claims of voter suppression

Officials in Delaware County are pushing back against claims made by the Trump campaign and RNC about “voter suppression.” This comes after an incident that occurred Monday at a polling station where officials claim a woman had been removed from the site because she was being “disruptive and belligerent” and trying to influence people waiting in line.

RNC Chairman Michael Whatley posted a video on X of the woman in handcuffs, claiming “a supporter President Trump’s has been arrested today because she encouraged people to remain in the early voting lines and cast their votes freely in Pennsylvania.”

This is voter suppression by the left. “Don’t let them push you away,” wrote he.

Later, the Trump campaign amplified this incident in a release.

The event took place in Media, Pennsylvania – the county seat of suburban Philadelphia.

A county spokesperson stated that a woman had been arrested and ejected from the building because she was “disruptive, belligerent and trying to influence voters in line”.

Her behavior led to several complaints by those waiting in line. The statement said that the Delaware County Park Police, who are responsible for security at the Government Center Building, were present and quickly responded to the disturbance.

According to the Pennsylvania Department of State, Val Biancaniello appears to be a GOP certified voter this cycle. CNN has reached Biancaniello to get her comment.

Biancaniello wrote on X that “they arrested me, and I did not break any laws.” I encouraged people not to leave the line, and instead vote in person because Democrats discouraged voters from voting in Delaware County today.

Delaware County Council Chair Monica Taylor responded to CNN by saying that the county took “voting rights” very seriously. She added: “Voters are entitled to participate in democracy without being intimidated or harassed, and we commend our Park Police for calmly calming the disruption and allowing voting without interruption.”

The Delaware County District Attorney’s Office confirmed to CNN Biancaniello had been “briefly arrested” and that she would be “receiving a citation for committing disorderly conduct.”