Former president Donald Trump appeared in Lititz, Lancaster County, during a campaign stop on Sunday, Nov. 3 as the presidential race entered its final days. Both candidates looked to squeeze in as many appearances and rallies as possible before Election Day.
Like other public appearances, Trump was behind bulletproof glass and spoke on his familiar talking points of media fraud: “ABC, ABC, fake news, CBS, ABC, NBC. These are, in my opinion, these are seriously corrupt people,” he said at the event.
Trump also criticized the way the election has been carried out, attacking mail-in ballots and questioning election security, calling for single-day voting and paper ballots.
Trump’s attacks are nothing new, part of his longtime trend of media attacks starting in his first presidential campaign in 2016, but it’s interesting to note that some Republicans have often advocated for early voting. Trump GOP skepticism about early voting and absentee ballots has been a lingering problem for the party, accentuated by Trump’s mixed messaging on the practice over the years.
“Our efforts to Swamp the Vote and Protect the Vote go hand-in-hand,” said RNC spokesperson Anna Kelly in a statement in September. “In order to ensure that Americans feel confident casting their ballot, whether it’s by mail, early in-person, or on Election Day, we must protect the vote and ensure commonsense election integrity measures across the country.”
Also interesting to note is the context of Trump’s comments, considering the Supreme Court’s decision on Friday, Nov. 1. The Court announced a decision during its emergency docket, giving no reason for the ruling as is the usual practice for emergency cases, that Pennsylvania voters will be able to cast a provisional vote if they make an error and forget to put their mail-in vote within the required envelope. This is a decision that could potentially lead to thousands more votes being counted in key battleground states and is a blow to Republican voter integrity narratives.
The decision comes as Republicans had asked the Court to intervene after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled 4-3 earlier last week that votes sent in without the secrecy envelope should not be disenfranchised. According to the Associated Press, nearly 9,000 out of 1.6 million mail-in ballots had arrived without the secrecy envelope.
“In Pennsylvania and across the country, Trump and his allies are trying to make it harder for your vote to count, but our institutions are stronger than his shameful attacks. Today’s decision confirms that, for every eligible voter, the right to vote means the right to have your vote counted,” read a joint statement from Kamala Harris’s campaign and the DNC (Democratic National Committee).
Kamala Harris held a rally on Wednesday, Oct. 30 at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg. Harris emphasized that her campaign represents a new generation of leadership for the United States and spoke on her economic plan to provide a middle-class tax cut and implement a federal ban on price-gouging in grocery stores. Harris was also sporadically interrupted, including by one who held a Palestinian flag and shouting “genocide” while being escorted from the rally.
“Everybody has a right to be heard, but right now I am speaking,” Harris replied to a heckler, prompting applause from the crowd.
Joe Biden also appeared in Pennsylvania, making a closing pitch for the 2024 Democratic campaign in Scranton.
“I’m asking for your support for Kamala and Tim Walz,” he said. “I’m not just asking for me; I’m going to be gone. I’m asking you to do something for yourself and your families.”
In addition to the presidential race, Pennsylvania’s 2024 U.S. Senate race also entered its final stretch. Three-time Democratic incumbent Senator Bob Casey faced Republican Dave McCormick in a race to decide the chamber’s majority. Both campaigns have spent more than $344 million on ads.
Addressing inflation is a key talking point as both candidates explained their views on the economy, with McCormick emphasizing a “pro-growth economy that is able to pay down the debt” and Casey talking about putting “pressure on companies when they go into the boardroom and… jack up [prices] well beyond their cost.”
Voters have the final say on both the presidential and senatorial elections.
