Priorities USA Files Motion to Intervene in Trump Campaign’s Pennsylvania Voting Rights Suit
Today, Priorities USA announced that it was supporting and funding efforts to intervene and fight the Trump Campaign’s lawsuit against Pennsylvania election officials. The lawsuit, which is part of Republican led efforts to disenfranchise voters across the country, falsely claims that ballot drop boxes are a threat to election security. It also wrongly accused counties in Pennsylvania of violating election laws by counting mail ballots based on the type of envelopes voters used to return them. But perhaps the most notable claim in the suit is the request for requirements for “poll watchers” to be relaxed. This is deeply troubling as Republicans across the country have been vocal about their plans to recruit poll watchers to intimidate voters while they cast their ballots in November.
The intervenors include the Pennsylvania Alliance for Retired Americans and Pennsylvania voters who have filed this joint legal challenge to combat these dishonest claims while addressing the Trump campaign’s shameful attempt to suppress the vote in the general election.
“This suit is just one of several Republican fillings across the country designed to suppress the vote in defense of an inept President who has failed to lead,” said Guy Cecil, chairman of Priorities USA. “The frivolous claims in the lawsuit are part of a much larger initiative by Republicans to use dishonest tactics that disenfranchise marginalized communities while spreading misinformation about the voting process. It is shameful that in the middle of a global pandemic, the Trump campaign is funding legal efforts to create restrictions that will make it harder to vote in November.”
“Older Pennsylvanians are at the highest risk of contracting COVID-19 and should not have to put their health at risk to cast a vote that will be counted in the November elections,” said Richard Fiesta, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans. “Seniors are being told to stay at home, limit travel, and maintain social distance from others. In this extraordinary time, we need to make it easier for people to vote, not harder. Reducing the number of ballot return boxes to one per county creates an undue burden on older voters who are trying to exercise their constitutional right to vote.”