Former President Donald Trump promoted a claim on social media that over 240,000 ballots had been sent out to “unverified” voters in Pennsylvania.
Trump on Friday posted to his Truth Social app, “Over 240,000 ‘unverified’ ballots have already been sent out in Pennsylvania, a total mess. The Democrats are playing games again because they know they are in deep trouble after unleashing skyrocketing crime, record Inflation, a war against American Energy, etc. Luckily, some Great Patriots and members of the State House are watching very closely. Be careful! And VOTE!”
The post references a claim made by Pennsylvania State GOP Representatives Kathy Rapp, Joseph Hamm, Leslie Rossi, Mike Puskaric, Mike Jones, Eric Nelson, Barry Jozwiak, David Rowe and Tracy Pennycuick. The representatives on October 25 sent a letter to acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman citing “records of 2022 Mail Ballot Data” allegedly showing that, as of October 21, over 240,000 counties had already mailed out the “unverified” ballots.
The former president has repeatedly touted baseless claims of 2020 presidential election fraud, which have been debunked by his own former officials, including former U.S. Attorney General William Barr, former U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Richard Donoghue and former acting U.S. Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.
“That is an enormous number of ballots which, according to the law, must be set aside and not counted for the 2022 General Election unless the voter produces lD,” the letter said. “Many of these unverified ballots are likely the result of transposition of numbers or letters but the purpose of the law is to ensure integrity.”
The Pennsylvania Department of State denied the allegation made by the Republican representatives and called their claim “misinformation,” Reuters reported on Friday.
“The department believes the reference to 240,000 unverified ballots is the result of misunderstandings of the law, the department’s data, and the counties’ workflow,” a state department spokesperson said, according to Reuters.
The Pennsylvania Department of State also said that as of Thursday, “there are only about 7,600 ballot applications statewide whose voters’ identification have not yet been verified.”
Newsweek and Reuters were unable to independently verify whether 240,000 ballots were sent to unverified voters or whether there are an estimated 7,600 ballot applications in Pennsylvania that have not yet been verified. Ballots will not be counted if voters failed to verify them within six days after the election, according to Reuters.
Pennsylvania is set to hold Senate and gubernatorial races in the November 8 midterm elections, which are less than two weeks away.
Trump endorsed GOP candidate and celebrity doctor Mehmet Oz for the Senate seat against Democratic candidate and current Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman, as well as GOP candidate and state Senator Doug Mastriano for governorship against Democratic candidate and Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s media office for comment.
Read More: Trump Promotes Claim of 240,000 ‘Unverified’ Ballots Sent in Pennsylvania