Giuliani’s false claim of more than 600,000 unlawful votes in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia

In Pennsylvania, Democrat Joe Biden got about 54,000 more votes than President Donald Trump. Some Trump supporters reject that tally, claiming without evidence that tens or even hundreds of thousands of ballots were counted illegitimately.

"It’s more like 600,000 plus unlawful votes in Philly and Pitt," Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani tweeted Nov. 11.

We reached out to Giuliani’s communications director to ask where he got his number  and did not hear back.

The Pennsylvania Department of State, which oversees elections, says the former New York mayor’s claim is unfounded. We found no rationale or explanation for how so many votes could have been fraudulently cast.

"There is no factual basis for this claim," said agency communications director Wanda Murren. "Allegations of fraud and illegal activity have been repeatedly debunked and dismissed by the courts."

A U.S. District Court judge rebuffed a GOP suit that claimed Republican observers had been unfairly barred from certain areas of the Philadelphia Convention Center where mailed ballots were counted. Pressed by the judge, Republicans acknowledged that they did have representatives on the scene.

Democrats and Republicans then established more detailed ground rules for how many party representatives would observe the count.

A combined total of 1,409,483 votes were cast in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, the state’s two largest cities. Guiliani’s statement suggests that over 40% of them were illegal. His 600,000 figure is roughly equal to the entire number of mail-in ballots that were cast for Biden in the two cities.

The state Republican Party is challenging a state Supreme Court ruling that allowed for counting mailed ballots that arrive within three days after polls closed on Election Day. State election officials said about 10,000 mail ballots were received during those three days. The state has kept those ballots separate, pending a resolution of the GOP challenge. The state did not include them in tallies that led the state to be called for Biden.

Some have suggested that many ballots were counted without legally required oversight. We recently rated False a claim along those lines from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and debunked a claim from Trump that Republican observers were barred. We found no evidence that ballots were inappropriately cast or that observers were barred from watching.

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Donald Trump

stated on October 29, 2024 in a rally in Allentown, Pa.

In Lancaster, Pa., “We caught them with 2,600 votes. We caught them cold, 2,600 votes. ... And every vote was written by the same person."

The Pennsylvania law that established mail-in voting and allows observers to be present when mail ballots are opened and recorded was passed by a Republican Legislature.

"Any laws around poll watchers apply equally to both major parties and any third parties," said Suzanne Almeida, interim executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania. "I have seen no evidence that one party’s poll watchers have been treated any differently than the other."

Giuliani said over 600,000 votes were unlawful in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. There is no evidence to back that up.

Pennsylvania law allows representatives from both parties to observe the count, and Republicans in the state told a judge that they did have monitors in the room.

Pennsylvania’s Department of State denied that any votes were improperly counted.

We rate this claim Pants on Fire.