Can We Trust the Process in Philadelphia?

“Bad things happen in Philadelphia,” said President Donald Trump at the first presidential debate in September. Many residents of the city reacted angrily to his comment on its conduct of elections, while a few chose to emblazon the remark on T-shirts as a humorous declaration of civic toughness. Outside the City of Brotherly Love, some Americans are wondering if bad things are happening there right now.

This doesn’t mean people are buying Mr. Trump’s Thursday claim that election officials are trying to commit fraud. Huge vote totals in Philadelphia have...