November 08, 2016
As of 6 p.m. Tuesday, the Philadelphia District Attorney's Election Fraud Task Force has responded to 95 calls, just two behind this time during the 2012 election, according to one official.
"We're not seeing anything out of the ordinary," said Cameron Kline, spokesperson for the DA's office said. "Nothing close to what one of the candidates running for president claimed has happened."
The task force, established to mediate any claims of illegal voting, write-in issues, intimidation or other problems, has responded to the "same issues that [it] deals with any other election," Kline said.
Though it's received a number of calls related to people just looking for assistance or basic "how to" questions, the task force has officially investigated complaints of electioneering, voter assistance and issues with voting machines.
District Attorney Seth Williams addressed speculations of potential wrongdoing last Wednesday. He said that the task force was "ready" to handle any issues within Philadelphia's election system.
His message comes after Republican nominee for president Donald Trump's claims that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton would "rig" the election in the battleground state to work in her favor.
Trump has said during his campaign that if were to lose Pennsylvania, it would be because of voter fraud in Philadelphia.
“We have to make sure the people of Philadelphia are protected, that the vote counts are 100 percent,” Trump said recently while campaigning in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. “Everybody wants that, but I hear these horror shows. I hear these horror shows and we have to make sure that this election is not stolen from us and is not taken away from us. And everybody knows what I’m talking about.”
Kline said that the DA's office will tally up the calls once more after Pennsylvania's polls close at 8 p.m. Any suspicious activity can be reported to the task force's hotline at 215-686-9641.
