Republican allegations of illegal voter suppression in a Democrat-controlled suburban Philadelphia county resulted in an emergency lawsuit and a favorable ruling from a judge this week in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania.

A Bucks County judge sided with the Trump campaign and GOP in a ruling that extended by three days the deadline for voters in the county to apply for, receive, fill out, and submit an on-demand mail-in absentee ballot, the Bucks County Courier Times reported.

The statewide deadline for such early voting was 5 pm on Tuesday, but amid Republican accusations that some voters had been turned away and denied that right to vote hours before the deadline, the county judge extended the window of opportunity until 5 pm on Friday.

Lawsuit filed

On Wednesday morning, the Trump campaign was joined by the state and national Republican Parties in a lawsuit against the Bucks County Board of Elections that claimed election officials had illegally turned away and denied the rights of voters who'd been in line to apply for, receive, fill out, and submit an on-demand mail-in ballot ahead of Tuesday's 5 pm deadline.

The complaint asserted that Bucks County voters were turned away by officials "without allowing the opportunity to even submit their applications" for a mail-in ballot and further "precluded them from voting by mail, as is their right under the Election Code."

The suit also stated that voters who'd appeared at a designated early voting location within the specified time frame had "effectively attempted to apply for a mail-in ballot by the application deadline but the Board refused to process the same."

Included in the filing were declarations from several voters who attested that they'd shown up at an early voting location hours before the 5 pm deadline but were "told by county officials I would not be able to request, receive, vote, and submit a mailed-in ballot and that I would have to return on a different day."

Law is ambiguous about whether voters must be accommodated or can be turned away

To be sure, Bucks County disputed the complaints with a series of X posts on Tuesday that initially insisted that "Contrary to what is being depicted on social media," anyone who was in line before the deadline would be allowed to apply for a mail-in ballot -- though they acknowledged that those voters would be unlikely to receive and submit said ballot on the same day.

In a follow-up post, however, the county admitted, "We are aware that, due to a miscommunication, individuals in line to apply for an on-demand mail-in ballot were briefly told they could not be accommodated," but added, "In fact, these voters were given the opportunity to submit mail-in ballot applications today."

At issue here, per the Courier Times, is whether the rules for the early voting period are the same as the rules for Election Day, on which anyone who is in line before the deadline for polls to close is guaranteed their right to cast a ballot.

There is apparently some ambiguity in the laws that suggest polling locations are not legally required to fulfill the demands of voters during the early voting period to apply for, receive, fill out, and submit their mail-in ballot at the same time.

Deadline for early voting extended to Friday in Bucks County

The Courier Times reported that Republican legislators in Bucks County have drafted to clarify that the same rules for Election Day would apply to the early voting period, in that nobody in line before the deadline could be turned away, but in the meantime, a Bucks County judge sided with the Trump Campaign and Republicans and ordered an extension to the deadline for voters to participate in the early voting period.

In a one-page order, Judge Jeffrey Trauger said Bucks County had to "permit any persons who wishes to apply for, receive, vote, and return a mail-in ballot to appear at the Elections Bureau office and do so during normal business hours before the close of business" on Friday, November 1.

At the same time, local NBC affiliate WCAU reported that a similar issue arose in neighboring Lehigh County, and while that judge also ruled in favor of the complainants they only extended the deadline by one day until the close of business on Wednesday.