Widespread voting issues are being reported throughout Pennsylvania, hampering Election Day voters in the key battleground state.
Early this morning, Democrat election officials reportedly blocked Republican poll watchers in Philadelphia, York, Westmoreland, Allegheny, Lehigh, Cambria, Wyoming, and Lackawanna Counties from doing their jobs.
Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Whatley reported on X at 6:42 a.m. ET that GOP lawyers engaged with local officials, and he could “now report that all Republican poll watchers have been let into the building(s).”
“We will keep fighting, keep winning, and keep sharing updates,” Whatley added.
“Refusing entry to R poll observers is illegal. Stopping this issue dead in its tracks is EXACTLY why we designed this EI [Election Integrity] operation,” Republican National Committee (RNC) co-Chair Lara Trump posted on X. “Let this serve as a warning to anyone out there today who wants to interfere in a free, fair and transparent election process, WE ARE WATCHING & ready to take action.”
Meanwhile, scanning machines have reportedly broken down in multiple counties, including Bedford, Cambria, Clearfield, and Somerset counties.
“I’m in a deep red part of swing state Pennsylvania, and all the voting machines are broken across this county and the neighboring ones,” one PA voter reported on X. “People are stranded in line, and a constable told them they don’t get the machines working by 10PM, they will turn people away.”
Some precincts have put cast paper ballots in lock boxes to be scanned at a later time, WJAC 6 News reported.
Other precincts have reportedly told voters to return later in the day once the machines are fixed. Election officials in Bedford County told 6 News that they were working to fix the machines and keeping cast ballots in a lock box until they could be tabulated.
6 News reached Pennsylvania’s Department of State and was directed to the Cambria County Election Office, which could not be reached.
“We understand that there are some line delays on the ground. We need you to stay in line,” Whatley posted on X. “We need you to fill out your ballot in full and deliver it. Our Pennsylvania lawyers are all over this issue and will ensure fairness and accuracy in the process. Stay in line! Deliver your ballot!”
According to Article 3 Project Founder Mike Davis, Democrats were fighting in court against a three-hour extension to ensure voters can vote amid the irregularities.
“Kamala Democrats are fighting to disenfranchise voters on Election Day,” Davis posted on X.
In Cambria County, the GOP was able to secure a court order extending voting hours until 10 PM to make up for the issues, Lara Trump announced on X. “STAY IN LINE! VOTE!” she said.
In the 2022 midterm election in Maricopa County, Ariz., approximately 25 percent of the tabulators malfunctioned, severely impacting the heavily Republican Election Day vote, resulting in the election of the then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs for Governor.
Another voting issue that has emerged in Pennsylvania are ballots pre-marked with a tiny dot for Harris. Voters are being advised to inspect their ballot for the dot and request another one if they see it.
Cynthia Yockey, co-chair of the Jefferson County, Iowa Republican Central Committee explained on X: “The way this ballot scam works is that the dot in the box for Harris is covered up if you vote for her, but if you vote for Trump it counts as an over-voted ballot so it be marked as spoiled and won’t count.”
Republican politician Kathy Barnette, who ran for U.S. Senate in the 2022 PA primaries, posted on Twitter that she encountered this issue at her polling station in Montgomery County, Penn., this morning.
Barnette said a poll worker told her: “When you get your ballot and if you see that little dot,” pointing to Harris/Walz’s name, “ask for a new ballot.”
Flabbergasted, Barnette said she asked if they were alerting everyone as they walked in and they said they were trying to.
“Did the GOP not inspect the ballot before they were printed?” she asked. “Did the RNC not inspect the ballot before they were printed? Did the Trump campaign NOT inspect the ballot before they were printed?”
