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Trump Campaign Loses Lawsuit on Philly Election Observers

The court ruled that COVID-19 restrictions at a Philly site didn’t impinge on campaign observers’ ability to monitor absentee vote counting.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court dealt another blow to President Donald Trump’s failing re-election bid on Tuesday—ruling 5-2 that COVID-19 restrictions at the Philadelphia Convention Center did not impinge on his campaign observers’ ability to monitor absentee vote counting.

The highest bench in the state determined that Pennsylvania’s regulations only guarantee trained observers affiliated with a campaign the right to remain in the room during the tabulation process, and do not set a minimum distance. Thus, the Philadelphia rules that kept the watchers back 25 feet and behind a barrier did not violate the law.

The decision overturned one of the president’s few legal victories since his loss to President-elect Joe Biden earlier this month, although the appeal to the Supreme Court had immediately stayed the lower court’s Nov. 5 order siding with the campaign. This suit was separate to the one the campaign brought in federal court to stop the certification of Biden’s win in Philadelphia, which former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani was still litigating in Williamsport on Tuesday afternoon.

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William BreddermanSenior Researcher

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