A prominent MAGA activist has been hit with a complaint alleging he violated campaign finance law as part of his push to oust three Democratic state Supreme Court justices.
Scott Presler, who founded the political action committee Early Vote Action, allegedly ran a coordinated campaign urging voters to reject the retention of Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justices Christine Donohue, Kevin Dougherty — both Democrats — and David Wecht, a Democrat at the time who has since become an independent, in a high-stakes election that could have flipped control of the state's highest court in a critical swing state.
According to liberal elections outlet Democracy Docket, a complaint filed by the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen alleges Presler and EVA "spent significant but unknown sums to influence voters to 'Vote No' on the retention of" the three justices.
Public Citizen argues that under Pennsylvania law, any PAC or individual spending money to sway a retention election must register and file regular financial disclosures with the state — something neither Presler nor his PAC ever did, despite the campaign's reach extending into national and local media appearances. The three justices ultimately won retention.
Presler has spread election conspiracy theories. In 2016, he was dismissed from a field organizer role by the Republican Party of Virginia after he was allegedly caught engaging in sexual activity with men in a Virginia Beach campaign office and posting explicit images on Craigslist.
Since then, he has become a prominent advocate for conservative voter registration drives. He has claimed his outreach in Amish Country helped swing Pennsylvania for Trump in 2024, though experts who examined the claim dispute it. He was also dismissed as a "grifter" by Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX).
Correction, Aug. 27, 2026: An earlier version of this story described the filing against Scott Presler as a lawsuit; it is a campaign finance complaint filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State. This version has also been revised to reflect his documented promotion of election conspiracy theories.
