In the run-up to Tuesday’s midterm elections, Republicans and Democrats have filed dozens of lawsuits in battleground states that hold the key to control of the US Congress.
The lawsuits challenge several rules that govern elections, with most focusing on the casting and counting of mail-in ballots that have gained popularity in recent years.
As of Monday, a total of 128 election and voting-related lawsuits have been filed so far in 2022, according to Democracy Docket, a left-leaning voting rights organization that tracks election litigation. Of the total, 71 seek to restrict access to voting, while the rest aim to expand or protect voting, says Democracy Docket.
A September analysis by Democracy Docket showed that Republicans accounted for just over half of the lawsuits filed this year.
Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for Common Cause, a nonpartisan watchdog and advocacy organization, said the extraordinary amount of litigation will likely make this midterm election the most litigious in recent history, second only to the race. 2020 presidential.
“It’s routine that there are a small number of lawsuits filed on both sides to gain an advantage,” Albert said. “What’s different this time is the sheer number of lawsuits and the obvious attempt to disenfranchise voters and undermine people’s faith in elections.”
In 2020, Democracy Docket tracked 68 lawsuits filed before Election Day.
Hans von Spakovsky, manager of the electoral law reform initiative at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said the Republican demands are simply seeking to enforce the law.
“It is my understanding that the lawsuits that are being filed are simply asking the courts to order state officials to comply with state law,” von Spakovsky said.
Democracy Docket says Republicans have filed a record number of election-related lawsuits this year, with most seeking to limit voting by mail.
Mail-in voting increased during the 2020 presidential election. But Republican-controlled states have since taken steps to limit the practice, saying mail-in voting is susceptible to fraud.
Republicans have had some success challenging mail-in voting this year.
In Wisconsin, where Republican Sen. Ron Johnson is facing a tough challenge from the state’s Democratic lieutenant governor, local courts last week sided with the Republicans and ruled that county clerks could not accept mail-in ballots with partial addresses. of witnesses.
In Pennsylvania, where a Senate seat vacated by a Republican is up for grabs, the state Supreme Court last week approved a Republican request that election officials not count undated or incorrectly dated mail-in ballots.
But in Michigan, a judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit brought by a Republican candidate that asked the court to require all Detroit voters to get absentee ballots in person or vote in person.
Common Cause’s Albert said the current litigation over absentee ballot counting will likely extend into the post-election canvass and certification period, delaying the results of some close races.
“Especially in states where absentee ballots could change the results,” Albert said. “We continue to reiterate that Election Day is not results day, and we may be waiting quite a while for the final counts.”
Post-election court battles will likely involve many aspects of the election. In addition to counting and processing mail-in ballots, Democracy Docket says it expects legal challenges to voter eligibility, intimidation of voters and poll workers, conspiracy theories about electronic voting machines, and counties refusing to certify their election results.
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