DV Journal

Scott Presler, the GOP voting registration activist who helped flip several Pennsylvania county voter rolls from Democratic to Republican majority–ultimately helping elect President-elect Donald Trump–now has a new target: the state Supreme Court.

Sometimes known as the ‘Pied Piper of GOP voter registration,’ Presler is campaigning to get MAGA voters to vote against retaining three Democratic state Supreme Court justices: Christine Donohue, David N. Wecht, and Kevin M. Dougherty. Voters will decide whether to keep them on the bench in 2025.

Dougherty, a member of a Philadelphia political dynasty, is the brother of disgraced labor leader Johnny “Doc” Dougherty and the father of newly elected state Rep. Sean Dougherty (D-Philadelphia).

And it’s not just that they’re Democrats, Presler told DVJournal. Presler, who moved from Virginia to western Pennsylvania to help elect Trump, said the votes of these three jurists made real differences in people’s lives.

And not in a good way.

In 2020, the Democratic majority court voted to uphold former Gov. Tom Wolf’s pandemic lockdowns, he said. That resulted in the people voting for a referendum in 2021 to curb a governor’s emergency powers.

That same year, the court voted to allow mail-in ballots not received until three days after the election to be counted, Presler said. The law now requires ballots to arrive by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

He called those “awful decisions.”

Presler has rehired 23 people who worked for his nonprofit, Early Vote Action, during the 2024 election. They will now work to convince voters not to retain the Democratic justices. Billionaire Elon Musk, a Trump supporter, gave Early Vote Action $1 million in August.

“In recent history, there has only been one Supreme Court Justice [Russell M. Nigro] to lose a retention vote, and that was way back after the whole pay raise hullabaloo (in 2005),” said Republican political consultant Christopher Nicholas. “If those three are not retained by voters in the fall, then their terms would end at the end of 2025, and then the governor would have to appoint three replacements to serve until the next regularly scheduled judicial election, which would be 2027. Of course, the Senate would have to confirm those appointments.”

Nicholas said that Wecht, Donohue and Dougherty have until early January to tell the secretary of state whether they want to stand for retention.

“And so my message is, if Pennsylvanians want a different court, make a plan to vote on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025,” said Presler. “And then to vote for conservative justices in 2027. If you do all these things, you could have a 5 to 2 Republican majority on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court going into the 2028 presidential election.”

Will Pennsylvania voters understand this relatively complex process, as opposed to a single up-or-down vote to keep or remove an elected official?

“I want people to know there is a plan in place, and ultimately, if every Trump supporter comes out in 2025, 2026, and 2027, you will keep winning. That’s the ultimate message. You keep coming out [to vote], you keep winning. Period.”

Presler said he has not discussed this judicial campaign with Musk.

“I think Elon’s a little busy working on the Department of Government Efficiency,” said Presler. “And building rocket ships and providing free speech [on X] rather than messing with little Scott Presler right now.”

Presler noted that after past elections, the Republican Party “tended to pack up and go home, after celebrating a victory lap, and just kind of rested on their laurels.

“Now, we’re already staffed, and we’re already preparing for 2025,” he said. “We don’t want to make the same mistakes.”

Early Vote Action has also moved into the blue state next door to help a Republican win the governor’s race in New Jersey.

“We showed people you can win the commonwealth,” said Presler. “You can win a Senate seat. You can flip two congressional seats from blue to red. And Pennsylvania is the only swing state that delivered a Senate seat. Arizona didn’t. Wisconsin didn’t. Nevada didn’t. Pennsylvania did.”

“And so with that credibility, I’ve already told people, ‘Hey, Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2025, mark your calendars, and you get everybody out to vote.’

“We’re investing early. I know yard signs don’t vote, but I think, especially in an off-year election, you’re going to see Early Vote Action [put up] our ‘Vote No on Retention’ signs.”

“Victory begets victory,” said Presler. “I think the Democrats are truly very demoralized. They’re licking their wounds…We’re fired up. We want to keep winning. We’ll make Pennsylvania the next Ohio.”

“We’re going to keep registering voters,” said Presler. “We’re going to keep showing up at farmers’ markets and gun shows. The days of Republicans not being 24/7, 365 are over.”

Republican strategist Scott Presler of Early Vote Action is sometimes called the “Pied Piper of early voting and voter registration.” In a recent interview with Megyn Kelly, he laid out his strategy to get enough registered GOP voters to give Donald Trump the edge in Pennsylvania.

Presler’s strategy hinges on grassroots voter mobilization, focusing on key demographic groups including truckers, Amish residents, hunters, and veterans.

“All of our time, talent, and energy is going just to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,” Presler told Kelly.

Presler emphasized the organization’s commitment to building a robust ground game.

“We have a state director and 50 paid field staff on the ground all across Pennsylvania’s 67 counties,” he said. “And I want to dispel any myths right here and now that there is no ground game. I’m a data guy, so let’s go over the numbers for a second.”

Presler highlighted the narrowing gap in voter registration between Democrats and Republicans over the last few election cycles.

“In 2016, the Democrats had an advantage of nearly 1 million more (voters) than ours,” he said. “Donald Trump won Pennsylvania by 40,000 votes. Fast forward to 2020. That data showed our advantage was narrowed down to 650,000, and Pennsylvania was ultimately decided by a very narrow 80,000 votes.”

“Now, where are we today? That advantage has been narrowed down to 333,000. If you take out inactive voters, that number is just 160,000. So Pennsylvania is very much in play.”

Presler expressed confidence in the Republican position, pointing to significant declines in Democratic voter registration and mail-in ballot requests.

“The Democrats are down at 416,000 mail-in ballot requests from where they were four years ago at this same time,” he said. “So, again, 2020 was decided by 80,000. They’re down 300,000 voter registrations and they’re down 466,000 mail-in ballot requests. Republicans, in my humble objective opinion, are in the best place possible to actually win Pennsylvania and therefore the presidency this November.”

He detailed specific outreach efforts targeting truckers.

“There are 80,000 truckers in Pennsylvania alone,” Presler said. “If we mobilize that group, we win. Truckers are busy serving us, the American people. They’re driving rigs on Election Day. I spoke with a wife whose husband, a Pennsylvania truck driver, did not vote in 2020 because he was working. We are pushing them to get a mail-in ballot and to vote early to ensure they lock in those votes.”

Presler discussed the campaign’s activities in the Amish community.

“There are 90,000 Amish in Pennsylvania, and I know in the 2020 election, only 2,000 Amish voted,” he said. “We are meeting the Amish where they are—setting up voter registration tables at key locations like Roots Country Market [in Manheim, Pa.] and The Green Dragon Farmer’s Market [in Ephrata, Pa.]. We’re emphasizing that the Democrat Gov. Josh Shapiro is waging a war on their values, including school choice and religious freedom.”

He also laid out a clear focus on veterans.

“We have 800,000 veterans in Pennsylvania,” Presler said. “After the recent vice presidential debates, veterans do not take kindly to stolen valor or the Biden administration’s mishandling of Afghanistan. We are going to VFW halls and American Legion events to connect with these voters.”

Presler’s strategy also extends to Pennsylvania’s hunters, where he identified another significant voter pool.

“Thirty percent of Pennsylvania hunters are not registered to vote—over 300,000 hunters,” he said. “We have been visiting every gun show, gun store, and archery range, and we’re even advertising in newspapers to connect with this crucial group.”

The courting of hunters comes after the Biden administration blocked federal funding for youth hunting and archery programs through the Department of Education, a decision criticized as an attack on the Second Amendment and lawful gun ownership.

Critics assert that decision reflects a broader agenda to diminish hunting rights.

In his group’s approach, Presler emphasized the importance of data-driven community organizing. He said the strategy his organization is using to turn out those voters mirrors that undertaken by former President Barack Obama in 2008.

“We’re not reinventing the wheel; we’re using a model similar to President Obama’s community organizing strategy,” he said. “When we register someone to vote, we collect essential information to follow up and ensure they actually vote.”

As Nov. 5 approaches, Presler stressed the urgency of mobilizing support.

“This election is Trump’s to lose,” he said. “I think numbers matter. The fact that Republicans registered 12,500 new voters in the last week while Democrats only registered 7,600 is a clear indicator of momentum.”

He included a call to action for his supporters, urging them to focus on turning out votes.

“The only thing that matters is ballots into boxes,” Presler said. “The last date to register voters is on Oct. 21. We need to use every single day to court voters and lock in those votes on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.”

Presler discussed the plan at President Trump’s rally in Butler, Pa. on Oct. 5, featuring his return to the community where a would-be assassin shot the former president in the ear and killed audience member Corey Comperatore on July 13.

Presler emphasized the importance of grassroots voter mobilization.

“Pennsylvania, you have the power to change the world. Pennsylvania wins the White House,” Presler said.

He stressed the critical role that voter turnout would play, urging attendees to check their registration status and engage actively in the electoral process.

“Please, I ask you today, check your voter status. Make sure you’re an active voter registered at your current address,” he said.

At the Butler rally, Presler also courted union workers, a demographic he believes holds significant sway in the state, and college students.

“To our union workers, we want your vote. We want to keep jobs here in America,” he said.

Turning his attention to college students, he urged them to make their voices heard.

“To our sorority sisters and our fraternity brothers, you have the power,” Presler said. “If you’re going to school here in Pennsylvania, register to vote legally and lawfully here in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

Presler urged the audience to get out the vote.

“I feel this from the top of my head to the tip of my toes, I love our great country,” he said.  “President Trump took a bullet for us. Please use your ballot and have his back on Tuesday, Nov. 5, and deliver Pennsylvania for Donald J. Trump.”

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