Republicans have launched an aggressive legal campaign laying the groundwork to challenge potential election outcomes by filing more than 120 lawsuits against voting laws in 26 states. Democratic groups have also filed more than 100 lawsuits challenging new rules they claim impact voters’ ability to cast a ballot.
“Preventing Fraud” vs. “Keeping Voting Accessible”
The lawsuits will have a direct impact on whose votes count — and could establish grounds for post-election challenges. Republicans say the lawsuits are aimed at restoring faith in elections by ensuring people don’t vote illegally. Democrats say the lawsuits filed by Republicans are designed to undermine confidence in the election and sow chaos.
According to the New York Times, the most important pending lawsuits include:
In Pennsylvania: The RNC and local lawyers have filed suit arguing voters should not be notified of errors in their mail ballots — nor be allowed to fix them.
In Mississippi: The RNC and Mississippi Republican Party filed suit to not count mail ballots that arrive after Election Day. Currently the state counts votes if they are postmarked by Election Day. In July, a judge ruled against Republicans in the case, but it is now being heard on appeal.
In Arizona and other states: Republicans have filed multiple lawsuits aimed at “cleaning” voter rolls of ineligible and non-citizens (registered by Democrats) attempting to vote.
In Arizona: Republicans and conservative groups have filed suit opposing new rules that prohibit people from interfering with or harassing voters.
In Georgia: Democrats have filed suit challenging the state election board’s decision to allow its members to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” into election results before certifying them, holding up the process of making the results official.
Sources:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/29/us/politics/election-court-cases.html