Trump Claims Extended Vote Counting in Pennsylvania Could Spark Violence
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The much-awaited election day began in the United States on Tuesday with the first ballots cast in Dixville Notch and Millsfield, towns in the northeastern state of New Hampshire.
Trump campaigned in Michigan, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida. Biden held multiple events in Philadelphia as he seeks to win Pennsylvania.
Nearly 9.2 crore Americans have already cast their votes that could take days or weeks to be counted in some states. A winner might not be declared in the hours after polling closes tonight.
In his final day of campaigning, U.S. President Donald Trump warned of post-election violence due to a Supreme Court decision to allow extended ballot counting in what may be the pivotal state of Pennsylvania, reports VOA
Polls show former Vice President Joe Biden with a slight lead in the state where mail-in ballots, expected to favor the Democrats, might not be tabulated for days following Tuesday’s election.
In between his Monday rallies in Traverse City, Michigan, and Kenosha, Wisconsin, Trump tweeted that extended counting of such ballots in Pennsylvania “will allow rampant and unchecked cheating and will undermine our entire systems of laws. It will also induce violence in the streets. Something must be done!”
Twitter later flagged the tweet saying, “Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process.”
Following the president’s tweet, Biden was asked by reporters about Trump’s warning of violence in the streets.
“I’m not going to respond to anything he has to say,” replied the Democratic Party nominee before boarding his campaign jet back home to Delaware. “I’m hoping for a straightforward, peaceful election and a lot of people showing up.”
Kathy Boockvar, secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, appearing on CNN, denounced the president’s tweet and said the state’s voting infrastructure was secure against fraud.
“I have no idea what he’s talking about, but to say anything about inciting violence is completely inappropriate,” said Boockvar.
At his Kenosha rally, Trump said “that’s a very, very dangerous decision by the Supreme Court. I guess it was a political decision.” He expressed hope the justices would change their ruling.
Most years, the winner is clear before the official results with media organizations making projections based on tabulations from individual voting precincts.
This year a record number of people have cast early ballots — nearly 99 million— and with many of those coming by way of mail-in ballots due to concerns about the coronavirus, the counting in some states could be slower than usual.