All eyes on the polls as election irregularities anticipated to occur on Election Day

Ahead of an election with enormous consequences in which control of the U.S. House, Senate, and White House are all up for grabs, state officials and political parties are facing numerous election integrity issues. Many are already resulting in lawsuits.

Election integrity problems range from fraudulent voter registrations and ballots to denied access to poll watchers to voter suppression at the polls. Some of these have already occurred in crucial swing states, with both political parties quick to take these issues to court, while other problems are expected to happen on Election Day as millions of voters head to the polls.

This presidential election is expected to be close, as the RealClearPolitics polling average shows former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris tied nationally at 48.5%.

Honest Elections Project Executive Director Jason Snead previously told Just the News that delays in election results will likely occur with a close race, and the swing states of Arizona and Pennsylvania are likely to be delayed in announcing presidential election results.

Amid the close presidential race, the Republican National Committee said it has filed 130 lawsuits in 26 states this election cycle, while Harris' campaign told The New York Times in August that its election legal team has increased 10-fold over what President Joe Biden’s was in 2020.

Some swing states have already experienced election irregularities during early and mail-in voting, as others are bracing for them to occur on Election Day.

Pennsylvania

Five Pennsylvania counties are investigating possible fraudulent voter applications and mail-in ballot applications in the days and weeks leading up to Election Day.

The Pennsylvania attorney general’s office announced Thursday, “Apparent attempts to submit fraudulent voter registration forms in Berks, Lancaster, Monroe, and York counties have been defeated. The Office of Attorney General is working with the respective county officials to investigate those responsible for this conduct.”

Additionally, Cambria County has found fraudulent voter registration applications.

There have also been numerous lawsuits in the commonwealth over election procedures and administration.

Former President Donald Trump's campaign and the RNC won a lawsuit against Bucks County, Pa., on Wednesday to extend early voting by three days, following allegations that voters were turned away before polls for early voting were scheduled to close.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday unanimously agreed to allow a Pennsylvania ruling to remain that lets voters whose mail-in ballots are rejected for technical reasons have their votes still count if they vote again by provisional ballot. The original lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania, and the RNC appealed it to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Georgia

According to RNC Chairman Michael Whatley, the counties of Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb, and Gwinnett accepted ballots over the weekend, contrary to state law, and prevented Republican poll watchers from observing the counting of ballots. “Following our pressure campaign, our poll watchers have now been let into the building in all four Georgia counties,” Whatley posted on X on Saturday.

The RNC sued those four counties – in addition to the counties of Chatham, Clarke, and Clayton – in a lawsuit that is still ongoing.

"Our lawsuit over the offices remaining open is still pending, but we have eyes in the room as votes are being counted,” Whatley wrote in his post.

Arizona

Maricopa County, the most populous county in Arizona, may have issues on Election Day and take several days for results to be calculated. Maricopa County election officials announced that it will take 10-13 days to completely tabulate all ballots, meaning that some races may not be called on election night.

The county claims that “state election laws and narrow margins of victory” are the causes for the expected delay, as voters are given a five-day period to provide sufficient ID if they had not already done so.

However, Kari Lake, the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in Arizona, argued that election results should not be delayed for 10-13 days. “In 2022, the Arizona Legislature empowered County Recorders to allow voters to self-tabulate their own early ballots on Election Day, but for some reason the Maricopa County Recorder refuses to provide voters this option,” Lake posted on X.

There may also be long lines in Maricopa County on Election Day.

Harmeet Dhillon, counsel for the RNC, and Abe Hamadeh, the GOP nominee for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, warned the Maricopa County Recorder’s Office and the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors of the potential delays and voting issues that could occur on Election Day.

The Republicans noted that the length of the ballot will increase the time it takes for voters to fill it out and potential equipment failures could also increase voting time and cause long lines at polling locations.

The paper general election ballot for Maricopa County this year is two pages and double-sided, which is the first time since 2006 that the ballot has been longer than a page, presenting novel technical problems. Maricopa County Elections Director Scott Jarrett warned in September that ballot tabulation machines might jam because two sheets of paper will be inserted instead of one. He said that poll workers are receiving extra training to know how to address tabulator problems and quell any voters’ concerns.