Federal court dismisses Trump campaign lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania ballot drop boxes News
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Federal court dismisses Trump campaign lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania ballot drop boxes

The US District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania dismissed a lawsuit filed by Donald Trump’s re-election campaign challenging mail-in drop boxes in Pennsylvania on Saturday.

The lawsuit challenged the statewide use of ballot drop boxes in at least 20 counties. The Trump campaign alleged that the unmonitored and unsecured ad hoc drop boxes could enhance the “threat that fraudulent or otherwise ineligible ballots will be cast and counted in the upcoming General Election.” In addition to drop boxes, the Trump campaign challenged a state policy not to reject a mail-in ballot solely based on the envelope’s signature not matching what is on file with the state.

Ultimately, Judge Nicholas Ranjan’s 138-page decision found that the alleged harm was merely “speculative, and thus Plaintiff’s injury is not ‘concrete,'” and the Trump campaign failed to meet their burden of proof. Ranjan also stated that it is not up to a federal judge to make recommendations regarding elections, but to respect the democratically elected Pennsylvania General Assembly’s Election Code.

While the court dismissed all the constitutional claims, the Trump campaign is likely to appeal the decision.