Pennsylvania, Nevada AGs welcome Trump threats to send in lawyers on Election Day
Although Trump has said the winner should be decided Tuesday night, in many states it will take longer to count all the mail-in ballots
Attorney's general in Nevada and Pennsylvania welcomed threats from President Trump Sunday that his lawyers will possibly file election night lawsuits to limit how many mail-in ballots can be counted.
Nevada State Attorney General Aaron Ford simply said "we're ready" in response to a tweet from a PBS News Hour reporter on Trump's comments before he took the stage at a rally in Hickory, N.C.
"President Trump before getting on stage in NC laid out his election legal strategy: flood the zone with lawsuits in places like PA and NV on election night," the tweet from Yamiche Alcindor reads. "He said, 'We're gonna go in, the night of, as soon as that election's over, we're going in with our lawyers.'"
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro was more pointed.
"FACT CHECK: Our elections are over when all the votes are counted," he tweeted. "But if your lawyers want to try us, we’d be happy to defeat you in court one more time."
The remarks came after Trump was asked about an Axios report that he may try to prematurely declare victory over his Democratic rival Joe Biden on Election Day if he appears to be ahead, even without outcomes in key battlegrounds states. He denied the report but mentioned the Supreme Court's refusal to decide on a state court ruling that allows the state to count ballots postmarked after Nov. 3.
Trump has said the winner of Tuesday's presidential election should be declared on election night, which could invalidate main-in ballots that might not otherwise be counted until afterward -- potentially disenfranchising millions of voters.
Trump and Congressional Republicans have claimed, without evidence, that mail-in voting is susceptible to widespread fraud. He said it was unfair for ballots to be counted after Tuesday.
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"I don't think it's fair that we have to wait a long period of time after the election," Trump said. "Should've gotten their ballots in a long time before that. Could've gotten their ballots in a month ago. I think it's a ridiculous decision."
Pennsylvania and North Carolina, which the high court narrowly ruled can count ballots up to nine days after the election, are two swing states being hotly contested this election cycle.