Donald Trump accused Pennsylvania election officials of "cheating" after videos of early voting locations cutting off lines for ballots in the state went viral.
"Pennsylvania is cheating, and getting caught, at large scale levels rarely seen before," Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. "REPORT CHEATING TO AUTHORITIES. Law Enforcement must act, NOW!"
The post from Trump came after early closures of the line in Bucks County, Pennsylvania over the weekend sparked days of outrage. Voters in the state are required to apply in-person for a mail-in ballot if they wish to vote early. Unlike polling locations, local elections offices handling requests for mail-in ballots aren't required to stay open to clear lines.
“The Board of Elections office is not a polling place. On-demand in-person mail-in ballots are not early voting. This service is offered as a courtesy to voters because we have the equipment to do so,” county spokesperson James O’Malley told the Pennsylvania Star. “We are happy to accommodate as many voters as we can, but the fact remains that this is not a polling place and our staff needs to be allowed time to fulfill their other duties in furtherance of carrying out the election.”
The Trump team successfully sued to extend the county's deadline for requesting a mail-in ballot to Friday.
Trump's posts suggested that Pennsylvania is "cheating" his supporters seems like an early bit of groundwork to contesting any unfavorable results in a swing state that's still too close to call in most polls.
