Philadelphia’s election security once again in national spotlight amid false fraud claims

One night after Kamala Harris capped off her election campaign with a star-studded rally at the Rocky Steps in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum, the City of Brotherly Love continued to be one of the focal points of the 2024 presidential election amid surprisingly long lines at the polls – and, unsurprisingly, unsubstantiated fraud claims coming from former President Donald Trump.

At the city's election warehouse in Northeast Philadelphia, reporters from around the commonwealth and the globe came to watch and hear from city officials as the city's ballots were processed and tallied. The scene at the secure facility, with police presence inside and out, was not as happening as might be expected, even as hundreds of thousands of ballots are being scanned.

Unlike in 2020, the votes are being tallied outside of Center City in an area not nearly as accessible as the Pennsylvania Convention Center – where poll workers faced death threats and intimidation during the last presidential election.

Inside the operation

Election workers have been sorting mail-in ballots and inserting them into scanning machines since polls opened at 7 a.m. this morning.

Officials have reiterated that there are multiple backups that ensure election results are safely and accurately recorded, but more than an hour before polls in Pennsylvania closed at 8 p.m., Trump once again posted evidence-free election fraud claims on social media. "A lot of talk about massive CHEATING in Philadelphia. Law Enforcement coming!!!" the former president lied on Truth Social.

Seth Bluestein, a Republican and one of three members of the city's Board of Elections, said Tuesday evening that there were no major issues with voting in Philadelphia so far and promised the city would be able to count ballots much faster than in 2020 – when the city's mail in-ballots didn't decide the race until the Saturday following Election Day.

"The allegations about massive cheating in Philadelphia are absolutely false. There is no evidence whatsoever of massive cheating," Bluestein told reporters Tuesday night. "We work closely with the RNC and anyone across Philadelphia anytime if they have a complaint about anything...If anybody has evidence of widespread cheating, please send it in because we'd like to see it."

Not only have city officials confirmed that there have been no election security concerns today in Philadelphia, but lawyers representing the GOP haven't filed any legal complaints related to any fraud mentioned by Trump. Also, the Philadelphia Police Department said there have been no election-related issues that have required law enforcement response.

"We see it very smoothly here," said Vince Fenerty, chair of the city's Republican Party. "I haven't heard about any complaints of people cheating in Philadelphia."

City Commissioners Chair Omar Sabir said any efforts to spread misinformation regarding the election process is an attempt to convince people to not exercise their right to vote.

"Misinformation is nothing new," Sabir said. "They're trying to intimidate people so that they won't want to vote."

Election Day in the city

Voter enthusiasm – and long lines at the polls – dominated the headlines during Election Day, including among young voters on college campuses. At Temple University, where actor Paul Rudd stopped by to hand out water to those waiting in line, students reported waiting as long as two hours to cast their votes.

State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, the Democratic candidate for state auditor general, cast his ballot in North Philadelphia Tuesday morning and reiterated his central message of creating a government that "works for working people."

"I think today what you're going to see is the commonwealth come together for the common good and elect people who give a damn about working people and working families," Kenyatta told reporters. "I'm happy that the people of Pennsylvania are going to be in this decisive position because we pick presidents – and I think we're going to pick well today."

Other parts of the commonwealth reported wait times as long as seven hours – including in the bellwether city of Bethlehem.

Several counties received bomb threats throughout the day, including 10 polling places in Philadelphia and others in Centre, York and other counties. Philadelphia City Commissioners confirmed Tuesday night that just one of the polling stations was forced to close due to the bomb threat but that the closure was brief before the poll reopened.

The FBI released a statement saying it is aware of the various threats, "many of which appear to originate from Russian email domains."