On Monday, courts in both Michigan and North Carolina dismissed Republican efforts to invalidate the ballots of certain overseas voters.
These legal actions focused on individuals who had never resided in the states but were born abroad to parents who were state residents. In Michigan, the case also included the spouses of military personnel and overseas voters.
The Michigan state judge rejected the Republican lawsuit due to its late filing—less than a month before the presidential election on November 5.
The judge also affirmed that the election provisions permitting these voters to participate in the election were in alignment with state laws, federal regulations, and the Michigan Constitution.
The plaintiffs in both cases included state Republican parties and the Republican National Committee (RNC), which are working as part of a broader strategy targeting overseas ballots in key states ahead of the presidential election.
The RNC did not respond immediately to requests for comments regarding the ruling.
In North Carolina, a Superior Court judge in Wake County denied a request from Republicans for a preliminary injunction against the state’s Board of Elections.
This ruling ensures that individuals born overseas to North Carolina residents, but who have never lived in the state, can still vote in the upcoming presidential election.
Republicans contended that North Carolina’s allowance for these “Never Residents” to vote is in violation of the state’s constitutional requirement for voter residency.
They claimed that these ballots might be part of a larger scheme to manipulate the election, although no evidence has supported this assertion.
The court’s decision stated that there was “absolutely no evidence” to indicate any fraudulent activity occurring related to these voters in North Carolina.
Republicans could not provide any instances connected to the demographic they were attempting to disqualify.
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) took part in the North Carolina proceedings, claiming that many of the affected individuals are children of U.S. military members stationed abroad.
They argued that the last-minute legal action concerning a law that had been in effect for over 13 years served to create unnecessary distrust before the election.
In Michigan, the judge pointed out that the language that the Republicans were challenging had been established 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,” stated Michigan Court of Claims Judge Sima G. Patel in her ruling.