PA GOP files lawsuit over election day poll watchers

The Pennsylvania Republican party has filed a lawsuit asserting that their Election Day poll watchers have Constitutional rights under the First and 14th amendments to watch polls anywhere.

The Republicans are trying to bring poll watchers into Philadelphia from the suburbs. If the lawsuit fails, volunteers who do not live in the city cannot watch the polls.

“As a result of the Commonwealth’s arbitrary restriction on poll watchers, candidates, political parties and political bodies are unjustifiably burdened in their attempts to locate available, qualified registered electors who can serve as poll watchers,” the lawsuit said, as first reported by The Washington Post.

The Pennsylvania Republicans claim they are at a disadvantage in Philadelphia County, but also list several counties where Democrats are at their own disadvantage. These counties include Fulton, Bedford, Franklin, Perry and Huntington, where a majority of voters are Republican.

The Post notes that while Republicans have alleged voter fraud in Philadelphia, Democrats have not showed similar concern in Republican counties.

The lawsuit comes after a week of both Republican nominee Donald Trump and his running mate Mike Pence making claims of voter fraud and a rigged election.

Pennsylvania was widely believed to be a swing state this election cycle, though Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton has held a consistent lead in the state’s polls. According to the current RealClearPolitics average, Clinton leads Trump by 6.2 points in the state.

Republicans have not won the state in a general election since 1988.