More than 165 lawsuits challenging election rules have been filed across the county by Republican and Democrat-aligned groups, an analysis by Bloomberg News shows. Republicans, under the guise of election integrity, want to tighten voting rules, while Democrats want to expand ballot box access.
In Ohio, the Supreme Court has upheld Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s new rule prohibiting voters from using a drop box when delivering ballots for a family member or disabled person. Now, anyone delivering a ballot must go to the Board of Elections and fill out a form acknowledging they follow the law.
It’s another victory for LaRose’s attempt to disenfranchise voters. Drop boxes are available 24/7 while the BOE is open for set hours. If you can’t go to the office, tough. You lose.
But Ohio isn’t a swing state where many lawsuits have been filed and heard.
In Georgia, the state Supreme Court threw out a BOE directive ordering counties to count ballots by hand on Election Day. A bipartisan group of critics warned that changing the counting method this close to an election would sow confusion. Still, two Republican election officials in Virginia say they won’t certify results if they’re not allowed to hand count ballots.
In Wisconsin, groups have filed lawsuits alleging nefarious plots to let people vote when they shouldn’t and claiming nearly 150,000 voters shouldn’t be on the rolls.
In Pennsylvania, six GOP congressmen say they have fraud concerns and want overseas ballots — including those of servicemen — set aside pending enhanced certification efforts.
In Nebraska, the Supreme Court ruled last week that convicted felons who have completed their sentence can vote. That’s important because Nebraska awards its electoral votes by congressional district. Democrats want to hold the state’s crucial 2nd district and its one electoral vote. With the ruling, approximately 7,000 people would have the right to vote restored, according to the Sentencing Project. While unlikely, it’s possible that one vote could swing the outcome of the election.
Groups file these lawsuits in conjunction with campaign rhetoric harping on election fraud that by and large doesn’t exist, as Republican officials across the country have repeatedly confirmed. Still, during campaign season, the legal maneuvering and talking points provide more fuel to those who believe Trump won and has been illegally denied office.
All of these lawsuits hint at chaos coming. First, barring an unexpected development, we’re not going to know who won the presidency until after November 5. The race is too close and absentee ballots that take longer to count could swing the results.
Remember, in 2020, Trump led Biden by 196,000 votes in Pennsylvania before officials began counting mail ballots. Biden won when the vast majority of those votes went to him. This year, officials expect more than 2 million votes to be cast by mail.
I’ve already heard from Republicans who believe Kamala Harris will win PA because officials there will magically find enough ballots in her favor during the mail-in count.
While it’s possible she’ll win the state (I don’t think she will), it won’t be because of fraud. It’ll be because voters trust her to steer the country more than they trust Trump.
Accepting election results is a fundamental part of our society. We need to applaud the results we like and loudly cheer the ones we don’t. Cheering when you lose shows that the country’s foundations remain strong, but it also shows character. Democracy stinks when you lose, and half the country will think this election stinks, no matter who wins.
Spending time and money to get the courts to influence the election is an affront to the democracy we cherish.
Stop it. Let the election play out and let the chips fall where they may.
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