By JOSH COTTON

jcotton@timesobserver.com

The Trump campaign has been ordered to produce evidence of voter fraud.

The campaign brought the suit against the Department of State and each of the 67 county’s Boards of Elections, Warren included, over the implementation of mail-in voting for the most recent primary election.

District Judge Nicolas Ranjan solicited the evidence from the campaign in an order filed on Thursday.

The order was in response to a motion to compel brought by the Sierra Club and Ranjan concluded that the “Court finds that instances of voter fraud are relevant to the claim and defenses in this case, particularly since (the campaign is) reserving their right to introduce such evidence or retail an expert regarding the same.”

Ranjan ordered that the campaign “produce such evidence in their possession, and if they have none, state as much.”

He said a deadline of Friday for the campaign to respond.

Nothing had been filed by the campaign as of 4 p.m. Friday.

The campaign in its initial filing alleged that mail-in voting “the single greatest threat to free and fair elections” and could lead to “chaos” for the upcoming General Election.

They assert that the implementation of mail-in voting was “hazardous, hurried and illegal” and “provides fraudsters an easy opportunity to engage in ballot harvesting” where multiple ballots are collected and filed by one person or provide opportunities to “manipulate or destroy ballots, manufacture duplicitous votes and sow chaos.”

County officials are working on their response to the lawsuit, as well.

Solicitor Nathaniel Schmidt said he is working with Elections Director Lisa Rivett on the county’s discovery response.

In the Trump campaign case, District Judge Nicholas Ranjan set the date for a hearing on the matter for Sept. 22.

While the Trump campaign is seeking relief in federal court, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party has petitioned for review in state Commonwealth court.

Schmidt described that move as venue shopping.

In that case, a motion for emergency relief was denied and a briefing schedule was implemented that runs through Aug. 27.