Philadelphia officials deny GOP poll watchers banned from voting sites

Philadelphia officials are denying a claim by the Trump campaign that a GOP poll watcher was turned away from a precincts, according to a report in ProPublica.

A spokesman for the political entity overseeing elections in Philadelphia says that a video appearing to show a Republican poll watcher being turned away was an isolated incident, and that the man was later admitted to the polling location. 

“We remain confident that the election will be open, honest and produce accurate results,” Kevin Feeley, a spokesman for the city commissioners, told ProPublica.

Philadelphia’s elections are run by the city commissioners. Pennsylvania is a key state in the 2020 campaign, and both President Trump’s and Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s campaigns are intently focused upon it.

Mike Roman, the Trump campaign’s national Election Day operations director, had retweeted a video on Tuesday that appears to show Republican poll watchers being turned away. 

DEMOCRAT ELECTION OFFICIALS BANNING TRUMP POLL WATCHERS IN PHILLY. This is happening all over the City. The steal is on! https://t.co/sWS9lXL5vh

— Mike Roman (@mikeroman) November 3, 2020

According to ProPublica, Will Chamberlain, editor of the conservative magazine Human Events, shot the video in Philadelphia’s Point Breeze neighborhood outside the Mitchum-Wilson Funeral Home.

ProPublica reports that Roman has alleged voter fraud in Pennsylvania on multiple occasions. He shared a video allegedly showing members of the New Black Panther group said to be intimidating voters in 2008. 

Feeley said the incident was the result of confusion over whether poll watchers were allowed to roam around the city or had to be assigned to a certain location. He said poll watchers can go to more than one location.

“The mistake was corrected, and the guy was admitted,” he told ProPublica.