Pennsylvania Judge Extends Early Voting After Trump Campaign Sues Over Alleged Voter Suppression
Voters at Bucks County will have three extra days for early in-person voting

A judge is extending Pennsylvaniaâs in-person early voting for three days after President Trumpâs campaign sued following complaints of voters being turned away at Bucks County.
The Trump campaign sought to extend the deadline for early voting after allegations of voter suppression circulated online. Voters shared pictures of long lines outside election offices in the Keystone State.
Several people said on Tuesday they were told they would not be able to apply for a mail-in ballot around 2:30 p.m., roughly three hours before the cut-off time on the last day for in-person early voting.
One user on X, Stacy Williams, wrote, âIâm in Levittown Bucks County trying to vote early IP for the second time. Iâve been told the line is 4 hours and I will not be able to vote today. Itâs now 11:46. This is unacceptable. The push for early voting isnât a surprise. Thereâs 2 people working this location.â
She shared a picture of a line of voters and a sign that stated, âIf you decide to wait, there is no guarantee that you will be seen today. Sorry for any inconvenience.â
The Trump campaign announced its lawsuit on Wednesday, saying, âThis is a direct violation of Pennsylvaniansâ rights to cast their ballot â and all voters have a right to STAY in line.â
Voters in the county will now have until November 1 for in-person early voting.
Bucks County did not respond to a request for comment from the Sun. However, the county acknowledged in a statement that âa miscommunicationâ led to voters in line being âbriefly told that they could not be accommodated.â
The county says those voters were âgiven the opportunityâ to vote despite the âmiscommunication.â It also said voters who were in line by 5 p.m. should have been able to vote.
The allegations of voter suppression and long wait times stem in part from the stateâs unusual form of early in-person voting.
Pennsylvania does not have machines for early in-person voting like most states do. It has what is called âon-demand mail voting,â which was implemented before the Covid pandemic and the increased interest in early and mail-in voting.
In this process, voters show up at county offices and fill out an application for a mail ballot. After being approved, they can fill out the ballot and turn it in immediately or they can take it home and mail it in.
The process usually takes about 12 minutes for each voter to complete, which has led to long lines.
The Bucks County Board of Elections chairman, Bob Harvie, acknowledged the frustrations over the long wait times, telling WHYY, âItâs an uncertain process for a lot of people because itâs still relatively new, and itâs also kind of inefficient.â
Bucks County is not the only county in Pennsylvania to experience issues with voters saying they missed the cut-off. On Tuesday, Lehigh County requested that a judge extend the deadline for on-demand voting after road closures for Trumpâs rally at Allentown cut off access to the election office. That extension was also granted.