Republican battleground-state legal blitz falters ahead of election
Donald Trump’s Republican allies have suffered a string of courtroom setbacks in battleground U.S. presidential election states as Election Day draws closer, losses which could boost voter turnout and speed certification of the eventual winner.
In the past three weeks, Trump’s allies have been dealt at least 10 court losses in battleground states that could decide the outcome of the Nov. 5 contest between Republican former President Trump and his Democratic rival, Vice President Kamala Harris.
On Friday, they were dealt another loss in Virginia, when a federal judge blocked the state’s removal of people it said had not proved their citizenship from its voter rolls.
U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles said the removal ran afoul of a federal prohibition on purging large numbers of voters in the 90 days before an election. The state, which is not a swing state this election, said it would appeal.
The other decisions include four rulings against Republicans in Georgia, where judges have blocked last-minute changes to election rules championed by Trump’s allies, including one that would have required poll workers to hand count ballots, as well as cases seeking to purge voter rolls and block some Americans who are living overseas from voting.
The party’s recent losses suggest its legal strategy is coming up short in court, which some legal experts said will likely be a net positive for voter turnout. The losses in Georgia, meanwhile, will likely make it easier for officials there to quickly count and certify vote totals, the experts said. [Continue reading…]