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MI, NC Courts Deny GOP Voter Challenges10/22 06:19
(AP) -- Courts in Michigan and North Carolina on Monday rejected attempts by
Republicans to disqualify the ballots of certain overseas voters.
Both cases targeted people who have never lived in the state but were born
overseas to parents who were residents of the state. The Michigan case also
targeted the spouses of military and overseas voters.
A state judge in Michigan dismissed the Republicans' case because it was
filed so late -- less than a month before the Nov. 5 presidential election. But
the judge also found that the election language allowing those voters to cast
ballots complied with both state and federal law, as well as the Michigan
Constitution.
The state GOPs and the Republican National Committee were among the
plaintiffs bringing both cases, which were filed as part of a broader legal
strategy against overseas ballots in presidential battleground states ahead of
the Nov. 5 election.
The RNC did not immediately return requests for comment.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson criticized the lawsuit in her
state as frivolous and described Monday's ruling as a win for election
integrity.
"This baseless lawsuit targeted the voting rights of U.S. citizens and their
families living abroad, including the children of active-duty military service
members," she said in a statement. "It represents a new low in the ongoing PR
campaign to cast doubt on the security of Michigan's elections."
In North Carolina, a judge hearing a case in Wake County Superior Court
denied a preliminary injunction the Republicans were seeking against the state
Board of Elections.
The decision will allow people who have never lived in the state, but were
born overseas to parents or guardians who were North Carolina residents, to
vote as usual in the November presidential election.
Republicans argued that North Carolina is allowing these "Never Residents"
to vote under a 2011 state law that disregards the state constitution's
requirement that voters be residents of the state. They contend those ballots
could be part of an elaborate scheme to steal the election, a claim for which
there is no evidence.
In the decision issued Monday, the judge said there is "absolutely no
evidence" of any such fraud occurring in North Carolina and the Republicans had
been unable to identify even a single case related to the group of voters they
targeted.
The Democratic National Committee intervened in the North Carolina case and
told the court that many of the affected voters are the children of U.S.
military personnel stationed overseas. It argued that the 11th hour legal
filing regarding a law passed more than 13 years ago aimed to sow distrust in
advance in this year's election.
In Michigan, the judge noted that the language targeted by the Republicans'
lawsuit had been in place since 2017.
"A challenge could have been raised at any time after 2017, and should have
at least been brought earlier in the year leading up to the general election,
not 28 days before," Michigan Court of Claims Judge Sima G. Patel said in the
ruling issued Monday.
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