By Joseph Tanfani and Andrew Goudsward
PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) -Republican Donald Trump's false claims about voter fraud in the critical battleground of Pennsylvania have raised concerns he could again try to overturn election results if he fares poorly against Democrat Kamala Harris in Tuesday's U.S. presidential election.
Opinion polls, both nationally and in the seven closely divided states, show former President Trump locked in a tight race with Vice President Harris four days before Election Day.
Trump continues to falsely claim his 2020 loss to Democratic President Joe Biden was the result of widespread fraud in multiple states that Trump lost, while he and his supporters have spread baseless claims about this election.
Trump on Thursday stepped up his unfounded allegations that probes into suspect voter registration forms in Pennsylvania are proof of voter fraud. Some of his supporters alleged voter suppression when long lines formed this week to receive mail-in ballots.
Harris' Democrats, meanwhile, are preparing for the possibility that Trump could try to prematurely claim victory before all votes are counted, as he did in 2020. Their initial plan is to flood social media and news media with calls for calm and patience should he do so.
"We are sadly ready if he does and, if we know that he is actually manipulating the press and attempting to manipulate the consensus of the American people ... we are prepared to respond," Harris said in an interview with ABC on Wednesday.
Trump's false claims about voter fraud after the 2020 vote preceded the deadly Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters seeking to halt or sway the congressional certification of the electoral votes that determine who becomes president.
"This is sowing the seeds for attempts to overturn an election," said Kyle Miller, a strategist with the advocacy group Protect Democracy. "We saw it in 2020, and I think the lesson Trump and his allies have learned since is that they have to sow these ideas early."
Trump's allies also have raised concerns that noncitizens could vote in significant numbers, though there are few examples of that happening.
On Friday, several U.S. intelligence agencies said Russia had created a video circulating online that falsely show people from Haiti voting multiple times in the state of Georgia. The video is part of Russia's efforts to undermine confidence in the election and divide Americans, the agencies said.
Georgia's top election official said Thursday the video likely came from a Russian troll farm.
State officials and democracy advocates said incidents in Pennsylvania show a system working as intended. A judge extended the mail-in ballot deadline by three days in Bucks County, north of Philadelphia, after the former U.S. president's campaign sued over claims that some voters were turned away before a Tuesday deadline.
Election officials discovered potentially fraudulent registrations in Lancaster and neighboring York counties, prompting investigations by local law enforcement. There is no evidence the applications have resulted in illegal votes.
As the election nears, election officials are scrambling to tamp down misinformation narratives about voter fraud.
In Pennsylvania’s Northampton County, an activist posted a video of someone dropping off a bin of ballots to the county courthouse and saying it was suspicious; it turned out to be a worker for the United States Postal Service “literally just delivering the mail,” said Pennsylvania Secretary of State Al Schmidt.
The video has been viewed more than five million times on X.
“I feel like that what's most different this year is, is the intentional dissemination of false information that spreads around the globe before we have an opportunity to get the truth out," Kathy Boockvar, Pennsylvania former secretary of state, said during a webinar on Friday.
PREPARING TO BLAME A LOSS ON FRAUD
Trump held a rally in Michigan on Friday and was later due to speak in Wisconsin, while Harris spoke in Janesville in Wisconsin and was due later in Milwaukee for a rally featuring rapper Cardi B.
Senior Harris campaign staff say their internal data shows Harris winning battleground state voters who have made up their minds in the last week by double-digit margins.
Trump's New York rally on Sunday, which featured vulgar and racist remarks from allies, was the "last straw" for late-breaking undecided voters, according to one Harris campaign official.
Trump tells his rallies to expect a big victory on Tuesday, saying he could only envision losing "if it was a corrupt election."
Trump's claims have raised concerns that he is preparing to again blame a potential loss in Pennsylvania, the largest of the seven states likely to decide the result of the election, on voter fraud.
In a social media post on Thursday, he said: "We caught them CHEATING BIG in Pennsylvania" and demanded criminal prosecutions.
The United States' unique method of choosing a president, rooted in the Constitution enacted in 1789, gives Trump an opportunity to seek to undermine election results at the local, state and national level.
In 2020, the Trump team attempted 60 court cases alleging fraud in multiple states, all without success. But the experience has prepared lawyers from both parties for another attempt this year.