For Part IV of The Right Take’s 2020 election investigative special, Jacob and Eric look at the most consequential swing state that was allegedly stolen from President Trump: Pennsylvania. They first look at how the scales were tipped unfairly in the Democrats’ favor, with numerous election laws changed unilaterally to allow for greater mail-in ballots and late counting, which gave Biden a nearly insurmountable advantage before Election Day even arrived. They then analyze the various accusations of more conventional voter fraud, including allegations against the United States Postal Service, that plagued Pennsylvania in the immediate aftermath of Election Day, as well as the various legal battles and latest developments in 2021.
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Tipping the Pennsylvania Scales before Election Day
12:06 Counting the Votes
28:16 After the Count: Lawsuits, Hearings, Affidavits, and Apparent Shenanigans
44:08 Aftermath
SHOWNOTES
In 2018, over 115,000 ballots were rejected; in 2020, just 7,100 were rejected: https://hereistheevidence.com/election-2020/stats/
Only voters who requested mail-in ballots were supposed to receive them: https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/11/04/1011705/pennsylvania-vote-count-security/
Mail-in votes were allowed to be counted three days after the election: https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-virus-outbreak-campaigns-local-elections-pennsylvania-355f8dca7a34a4902f42d8f4931c419e
Supreme Court without Amy Coney Barrett forced Republican-led counties to count late ballots: https://washingtonmonthly.com/2020/11/03/pennsylvania-republicans-are-already-refusing-to-count-absentee-ballots/
Nearly 2.5 million voters, 40% of the total 2016 turnout, returned mail-in ballots: https://www.phillymag.com/news/2020/11/03/pennsylvania-election-results-signs/
The official return rate for mail-in ballots along party lines: https://electproject.github.io/Early-Vote-2020G/PA.html
The Republican-controlled state legislature forbid the counting of mail-in ballots until Election Day morning: https://www.npr.org/2020/11/05/931699984/trump-launches-broad-legal-gambit-paired-with-public-doubt-raising-on-results
Republicans and Democrats could not come to a compromise on early-voting measures ahead of Election Day: https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/14/politics/pennsylvania-election-crisis/index.html
Zuckerberg’s donations of $300 million overwhelmingly favored Democrat-heavy precincts over Republican precincts: https://nypost.com/2021/10/25/grants-tied-to-facebook-boosted-democrats-in-pennsylvania-report-says/
Pennsylvania law on the counting of absentee electors/mail-in electors: https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconsCheck.cfm?yr=2019&sessInd=0&act=77
Previous instances of voter fraud in Pennsylvania in 2017: https://www.newsweek.com/fact-check-does-philadelphia-have-rotten-history-election-integrity-trump-claims-1545650
Military ballots found in dumpster, all for Trump: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/11/10/fact-check-partly-false-claim-discarded-ballots-pennsylvania/6213556002/
U.S. Postal Services loses unknown number of ballots: https://nationalfile.com/usps-loses-unknown-number-of-pennsylvania-mail-in-ballots/
Social media user allegedly boasted of throwing out Trump votes, later proven to not be a poll worker: https://apnews.com/article/fact-checking-afs:Content:9677886017
Poll watcher denied entry to a polling station in Philadelphia, sparking the #StopTheSteal hashtag: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/janelytvynenko/pennsylvania-false-info-voting
Philly sheriff refused to allow GOP observers into the polling stations: https://nationalfile.com/biden-leads-pa-after-700000-votes-found-in-philadelphia-sheriff-refuses-order-allowing-gop-observers/
Multiple observers were illegally turned away: https://nationalfile.com/video-philadelphia-poll-watchers-turned-away-illegal-electioneering-caught-on-camera/
Poll workers wearing Biden facemasks seen filling out blank ballots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9_SgYJnbKoA
Democrat poll worker posted a video of himself being kept 100 feet away from observing the ballots: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rj1ftCfVpOE
Other Democrats acknowledged the arbitrary 30-foot distance for Republican observers: https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/philadelphia-republican-observers-vote-count/2020/11/06/982385ac-2055-11eb-ba21-f2f001f0554b_story.html
Around 15,000 people were told they had voted already when they arrived to vote in-person: https://nationalfile.com/breaking-rudy-giuliani-sidney-powell-release-the-kraken-gives-specific-bombshell-evidence-of-voter-fraud/
Voting machines in Scranton briefly went down: https://nationalfile.com/video-voters-told-that-voting-machines-down-in-scranton-ballots-will-be-scanned-later/
Trump was up by 700,000 votes at his peak, before Biden votes suddenly started rolling in: https://nationalfile.com/biden-leads-pa-after-700000-votes-found-in-philadelphia-sheriff-refuses-order-allowing-gop-observers/
Over 1.4 million votes were uncounted as of the morning of November 4th: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2020/11/05/fact-check-claim-ongoing-ballot-counting-fraud-inaccurate/6161744002/
More accusations of GOP poll workers being discriminated against: https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2020/12/03/trump-lawsuits-challenging-election-michigan-arizona-pennsylvania-georgia/6425725002/
Voters in Republican areas of Pennsylvania were not allowed to correct mistakes on their ballots: https://nationalfile.com/breaking-rudy-giuliani-sidney-powell-release-the-kraken-gives-specific-bombshell-evidence-of-voter-fraud/
Trump campaign successfully sued to allow observers within six feet of ballots: https://www.npr.org/2020/11/05/931699984/trump-launches-broad-legal-gambit-paired-with-public-doubt-raising-on-results
Philly sheriff refused to enforce court order allowing observers within 6 feet: https://nationalfile.com/what-are-you-hiding-trump-campaign-says-philly-sheriff-wont-enforce-order-allowing-gop-observers/
Secretary of State Josh Shapiro reaffirmed that ballots received by November 6th would still be counted: https://nationalfile.com/pennsylvania-ballots-not-postmarked-but-received-by-nov-6-will-be-counted/
Pennsylvania Supreme Court overturned the lower court ruling, determining that observers had to go back to 100 feet: https://time.com/5908505/trump-lawsuits-biden-wins/
Richard Hopkins, USPS whistleblower in Pennsylvania, alleged his supervisors instructed them to commit fraud: https://nationalfile.com/video-usps-whistleblower-says-mainstream-media-lied-he-never-recanted-claims/
Conflicting sources on whether or not Hopkins recanted his claims shortly thereafter: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/pennsylvania-postal-worker-ballot-tampering-claims-questioned
Trump campaign lawsuit to block certification of the results in Philadelphia, six counties, and the state: https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-pennsylvania-harrisburg-4ffb65405cf23356da03339b78225822
Lawsuit pointed out that only in-person voters, not mail-in voters, were required to show proof of identification: https://triblive.com/local/experts-trump-lawsuit-targeting-allegheny-county-election-not-legally-sound/
Allegheny County election board member claims the poll-watching process was fair: https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/11/10/pennsylvania-voting-lawsuits/
Trump campaign sought audit of nearly 690,000 votes in Allegheny: https://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2020/11/09/presidential-election-2020-Trump-Biden-lawsuit-voter-fraud-Pennsylvania-poll-watchers/stories/202011090110
Trump campaign lawyer said questionable ballots could have simply been mistakes rather than fraud: https://www.newsweek.com/trump-campaign-lawyer-tells-pa-judge-he-has-no-knowledge-voter-fraud-related-ongoing-ballot-1546699
Trump campaign won a lawsuit to discount any ballots that were identification-cured between November 9th and November 12th: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alisondurkee/2020/11/12/pennsylvania-judge-rules-in-favor-of-trump-campaign-orders-state-cant-count-some-ballots/?sh=64e684cf6c12
Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers called for an audit: https://www.pennlive.com/elections/2020/11/pa-gop-lawmakers-call-for-a-legislative-led-audit-of-election-to-be-completed-before-results-are-certified.html
…which was then approved by a State House Committee: https://www.spotlightpa.org/news/2020/11/pennsylvania-election-2020-audit-review-republican-integrity-confusion/
…and was supported in a resolution by the whole House, before being shot down by another committee: https://www.penncapital-star.com/election-2020/pa-conservative-hopes-for-subpoena-fueled-election-investigation-quashed-by-political-reality/
Federal court rejected lawsuit by a Republican congressional candidate to dismiss 9,300 suspicious ballots: https://www.dw.com/en/us-pennsylvania-michigan-courts-reject-donald-trump-election-fraud-cases/a-55597851
Major law firm withdrew support for Trump campaign’s legal battles after harassment, doxxing, and threats from the Lincoln Project: https://nypost.com/2020/11/13/trump-campaign-lawyers-seek-to-quit-case-in-pennsylvania/
Rudy Giuliani took over after the Lincoln Project doxxed a firm off the case: https://whyy.org/articles/a-cheat-sheet-for-the-trump-election-lawsuits-still-alive-in-pa/
Examples of two voters whose ballots for Trump were rejected, further indication that fraud did balloon Biden’s vote totals in the state: https://lancasteronline.com/news/politics/lancaster-county-man-whose-ballot-was-rejected-joins-trump-lawsuit-in-pa/article_4a393472-2924-11eb-8ccb-5b0bff5c0ae3.html
Trump campaign withdraws challenge in Delaware County: https://6abc.com/pennsylvania-voters-elections-delaware-county-delco/7957716/
In Bucks County, Trump campaign lawyers alleged more mistakes rather than actual fraud: https://lawandcrime.com/2020-election/trump-campaign-attorneys-admit-there-is-no-evidence-of-any-fraud-in-connection-with-challenged-ballots-in-bucks-county-pa/
Six different cases thrown out by judges: https://www.cnn.com/2020/11/13/politics/pennsylvania-absentee-ballots-trump-campaign/index.html
Trump campaign team soon zeroed in on ballot-curing as the main problem: https://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/trump-election-fraud-claims-disappear-in-pennsylvania-court-1
Another judge simply dismissed Trump team’s case without hearing it: https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-donald-trump-pennsylvania-elections-talk-radio-433b6efe72720d8648221f405c2111f9
Republican Congressman Mike Kelly and candidate Sean Parnell filed their own lawsuit: https://www.businessinsider.com/pennsylvania-republicans-mail-in-ballot-reform-unconstitutional-trump-biden-election-2020-11
Mail-in ballots allegedly shown as being received on the same day they were mailed out: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-pa-data-ballots-same-day-fr/fact-check-data-showing-ballots-mailed-to-voters-and-received-by-the-state-the-same-day-is-not-proof-of-voter-fraud-idUSKBN284314
Pennsylvania Supreme Court rejected multiple lawsuits to investigate 9,000 suspicious votes in Philadelphia County: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/23/trump-loses-pennsylvania-ballot-lawsuit-seeking-to-block-biden-win.html
Trump campaign staffer Matt Braynard launched his own effort to investigate fraud: https://wskg.org/news/former-trump-staffer-fishing-for-voter-fraud-in-pennsylvania-is-short-on-proof/
…and analyzed the findings with Williams College professor Steven Miller: https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/local/williams-prof-disavows-own-finding-of-mishandled-gop-ballots/article_9cfd4228-2e03-11eb-b2ac-bb9c8b2bfa7f.html
Giuliani met with Pennsylvania Republicans in late November to discuss voter fraud: https://insidesources.com/in-pa-hearing-giuliani-makes-his-case-for-voter-fraud-gone-wild/
Expert witness said that up to 120,000 votes were suspicious: https://www.lawofficer.com/expert-witness-gives-testimony-that-up-to-120000-pennsylvania-votes-should-be-questioned/
Third Circuit Court of Appeals threw out another Trump lawsuit: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/nov/27/trump-voter-fraud-lawsuit-rejected-pennsylvania-court
Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed Parnell/Kelly lawsuit with prejudice: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/pennsylvania-supreme-court-denies-bid-trump-allies-halt/story?id=74442802
The Curious Case of Jesse Morgan: https://lancasteronline.com/news/politics/unfounded-claim-of-election-fraud-in-lancaster-promoted-by-trump/article_21bdb3ce-3504-11eb-847c-cba782c04964.html
Morgan’s affidavit: https://www.pacourts.us/Storage/media/pdfs/20210603/212420-file-10836.pdf
Morgan’s interview on One America News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FAB2NVJtVVg
Morgan’s past as a “ghost hunter:” https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2020/12/08/witness-pa-election-fraud-suit-ghost-hunter-long-criminal-record/6496500002/
United States Supreme Court also refused to hear Parnell/Kelly suit: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/supreme-court-won-t-take-gop-lawsuit-over-mail-voting-n1250448
John Lott’s analysis suggesting there was enough fraud to change the outcome: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/washington-secrets/expert-biden-win-suspicious-289-000-election-changing-excess-votes
Supreme Court refused to even consider a case on ballots being received three days late: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2021/02/22/supreme-court-declines-take-2020-election-case-pennsylvania/6578884002/
Alleged ticket-splitters may also have played a role: https://whyy.org/articles/they-rejected-trump-but-stuck-with-republicans-down-ballot-meet-pa-s-ticket-splitters/
Blank ballots photographed in Allentown: https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-photo-blank-ballots-allento/fact-check-photo-of-blank-ballots-in-allentown-pa-is-not-proof-of-election-fraud-idUSKBN27X2S9
Mob boss Joey Merlino accused of having a role in election fraud: https://www.phillyvoice.com/joey-merlino-philadelphia-mob-trump-biden-election-fraud-lawsuits-2020/
Governor Tom Wolf himself committed voter fraud: https://www.abc27.com/news/this-week-in-pennsylvania/pennsylvania-politics/it-was-an-honest-mistake-gov-wolfs-wife-drops-off-his-ballot-violating-pa-election-law/
Pennsylvania State Senate has hired a firm to carry out their own forensic audit: https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/582462-pennsylvanias-gop-controlled-senate-to-spend-up-to-270k-on-election
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