Trump Files First Election Lawsuit in Chilling Sign of What’s to Come

Donald Trump is once again suing districts in swing states over alleged voter intimidation.

The Trump-Vance campaign announced Wednesday that it had filed a lawsuit over alleged voter suppression in Pennsylvania, claiming without evidence that Bucks County was preventing Trump voters from participating in the 2024 election.

Speaking at a rally in Allentown, Pennsylvania, the night before, Republican National Committee Co-Chair Michael Whatley claimed that the Keystone State had been “turning away our voters.”

The campaign did not point to any instance in particular that led it to believe that voters had been treated unfairly in Bucks County, but county officials had observed that there were complaints on social media (shared by the Trump campaign) about long lines to obtain mail-in ballots on Tuesday, the last day of their availability. Due to a miscommunication, some voters believed they could not have their mail-in ballot requests accommodated, Bucks County officials wrote on X, noting that that information was incorrect and that all voters who had joined the line before 5 p.m. would be able to receive a mail-in ballot.

But Trump chose to stoke the flames Wednesday morning, posting on Truth Social that “Pennsylvania is cheating, and getting caught, at large scale levels rarely seen before.”

“Law enforcement must act, NOW!” he added.

Bucks County officials confirmed to NBC Philadelphia that they had been notified of the lawsuit, but did not provide further comment. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, meanwhile, shot back at the Republican presidential nominee, highlighting that Trump and his allies have spent the last four years actively corroding public trust in U.S. elections—and that they are currently warming up their second conspiracy to undermine the 2024 election results.

“Let’s remember, in 2020, Donald Trump attacked our elections over and over,” Shapiro wrote on X. “I was the Attorney General back then and despite his bluster and rhetoric, he went 0-43 in court when he fought to make it harder to vote and then tried to overturn Pennsylvanians’ votes.

“He’s now trying to use the same playbook to stoke chaos, but hear me on this: we will again have a free and fair, safe and secure election—and the will of the people will be respected,” Shapiro said.