NPR reports:

Two Republican legal challenges to the legitimacy of ballots cast by U.S. citizens living abroad, including U.S. military members, hit setbacks Monday.

A Michigan state judge dismissed one of three lawsuits that GOP groups filed in swing states in recent weeks, while in a North Carolina-based case, a state judge rejected the Republican National Committee’s request for the court to order that returned ballots of some overseas voters be set aside and not counted until the voters’ eligibility can be confirmed.

In the Michigan case, Judge Sima Patel of the state’s Court of Claims issued an opinion that underscored the fact that the RNC brought its case weeks before the last day of voting in this fall’s election. Patel called the lawsuit an “11th hour attempt to disenfranchise these electors in the November 5, 2024 general election.”

For years, Michigan has allowed eligible uniformed service members and other citizens living outside the U.S. to vote in federal elections, as required by a federal law known as the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. Guidance issued by Michigan’s secretary of state says: “A United States citizen who has never resided in the United States but who has a parent, legal guardian, or spouse who was last domiciled in Michigan is eligible to vote in Michigan as long as the citizen has not registered or voted in another state.”

But in court, the Republican National Committee argued against the eligibility of that category of overseas voters, who, the RNC contended, do not meet requirements under Michigan’s constitution for voters to be state residents.

Patel, however, concluded that the guidance language in the secretary of state’s manual for election officials is “consistent with federal and state law, and the Michigan Constitution.” [Continue reading…]