Trump fraud claims stir concerns of another contested US election
The former president’s claims about voting in the state of Pennsylvania have raised concerns he could try again to overturn an election loss
Republican Donald Trump’s false claims about voter fraud in the critical battleground of Pennsylvania have raised concerns he could again try to overturn election results if he fares poorly against Democrat Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s US presidential election.
Opinion polls, both nationally and in the seven closely divided battleground states, show former President Trump locked in a tight race with Vice-President Harris four days before Election Day.
Trump continues to falsely claim his 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud in multiple states that Trump lost, while he and his supporters have spread baseless claims about this election.
Trump on Thursday stepped up his unfounded allegations, that probes into suspect voter registration forms in Pennsylvania are proof of voter fraud. Some of his supporters alleged voter suppression when long queues formed this week to receive mail-in ballots.
Harris’ Democrats, meanwhile, are preparing for the possibility that Trump could try to prematurely claim victory before all votes are counted, as he did in 2020. Their initial plan is to flood social media and news media with calls for calm and patience should he do so.
“We are sadly ready if he does and, if we know that he is actually manipulating the press and attempting to manipulate the consensus of the American people … we are prepared to respond,” Harris said in an interview on Wednesday.
