Donald Trump’s presidential campaign won a lawsuit against a Pennsylvania county on Wednesday after officials sent voters home long before an early voting deadline the previous day.
On Tuesday, about 2:45 p.m., voters in line at the Bucks County administration office were informed that they could no longer seek on-demand mail-in votes. The line was then severed, and that part of the request procedure was suspended for the day.
This conduct by county officials appears to contradict certain official guidelines regarding the on-demand mail-in process.
Bucks County Court of Common Pleas Judge Jeffrey Trauger ruled in favor of the Trump campaign in a brief order, clearing up any uncertainty.
“Defendants actions in turning away voters who sought to apply for a mail-in ballot and receive one in person before the deadline of 5:00 p.m. on October 29, 2024 violated the Pennsylvania Election Code,” the order reads. “Defendants shall permit any persons who wishes to apply for, receive, vote, and return a mail-in ballot to appear at the Elections Bureau office and do so during normal business hours before the close of business on November 1, 2024.”
Now, voters in Bucks County will have an additional three days beyond the statutory deadline — which falls on Oct. 29 this year — to request and return on-demand mail-in ballots, according to the court’s order.
Pennsylvania does not have regular in-person early voting.
Rather, the Keystone State has a hybridized system where a voter can: (1) request a mail-in ballot, in-person or online, receive and return their ballot through the mail; (2) request a mail-in ballot, receive it through the mail, and then return it through the mail or in-person; or (3) request a mail-in ballot in-person and return it in-person immediately.
The third option is referred to as “on-demand” or “early in-person mail-voting,” and was the subject of Trump’s winning lawsuit.
“Voters throughout Bucks County sought to request a mail-in ballot to vote in the 2024 General Election,” the filing reads. “Many, traveled to the Bucks County Bureau of Elections offices, only to be turned away, and forced by security to leave without applying for and obtaining a mail-in ballot, as is their right under the Pennsylvania Election Code. Plaintiffs bring the instant Complaint seeking to remedy the county’s violation of the Election Code.”
While Trump’s campaign moved to court, Bucks County election officials rushed to the media, arguing that voters were only offered the chance to obtain an application, not to complete the on-demand process.
The complaint, on the other hand, argued for a more liberal interpretation of what the law—and election officials—promised voters.
From the filing, in detail:
Instead of complying with the letter and spirit of the Election Code, as well as the directive from the Secretary of the Commonwealth, the Board ordered security officials to remove voters who had arrived during posted operating hours and were in line prior to 5:00 p.m., some of whom had been standing in line for hours only to be turned away.
Thus, voters who, in good faith and in reliance upon the Board’s obligation to process mail-in-ballot applications prior to 5:00 p.m. a week before election day, were turned away by the Board and will be precluded from voting by mail-in ballot, as is their right under the Election Code.
“In other words, by appearing at one of the Board’s offices during posted operating hours and by the application deadline to exercise their On Demand Mail-in-Ballot Option, many of Plaintiffs’ members and supporters effectively attempted to apply for a mail in ballot by the application deadline but the Board refused to process the same,” the lawsuit goes on.
There was, however, considerable room for disagreement.
On Tuesday, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt stated: “Last week, the Department of State asked counties to plan to ensure every registered voter who was in line by 5 p.m. today is provided with the opportunity to apply for and submit a mail ballot application.”
In a similar but distinct post on X (formerly Twitter), the same office said: “If you are in line at a county elections office tonight at 5 p.m. to apply for your mail-in ballot, counties must give you an opportunity to do so. Our team continues to work with all counties to ensure every eligible voter who wants to vote by mail ballot is able to.”
The judge, in the end, sided with the Trump campaign.
In response, Bucks County filed a request for clarification.
The motion alleges the following issues with the court’s order:
Defendants respectfully seek clarification of the Court’s October 30, 2024 Order for Special and Preliminary Injunction with regard to the location and hours during which the Bucks County Board of Elections shall provide persons who wish to apply for, receive, vote, and return a mail-in ballot (On-Demand Voting).
First, Defendants request that the Court’s order be clarified to reflect that this service will be provided at the Board of Elections’ Doylestown location. Segregation of the ballots submitted during this extended on-demand voting period is required to ensure accurate poll books at each voting precinct. Ballots segregated during the election are stored securely at the Doylestown location. Additionally, Board of Elections staff have determined that they will be able to move the printers from the other two government services centers to Doylestown in order to service voters more efficiently with multiple printers at one location.
