RNC to appeal court losses in Michigan and North Carolina in overseas voting fights – Washington Examiner
The Republican National Committee (RNC) has announced plans to appeal recent court decisions in Michigan and North Carolina that rejected their challenges regarding overseas voting procedures. The RNC is contesting rulings that allow individuals born abroad to parents who were U.S. residents to vote without extra documentation. RNC spokeswoman Claire Zunk emphasized the party’s stance that only individuals who have lived in a state should be permitted to influence its elections. Concerns have been raised that overseas ballots may be counted as swing state votes, potentially complicating the electoral process. The appeals come after Michigan’s court criticized the RNC for a late filing, labeling it an attempt to disenfranchise eligible voters living abroad.
RNC to appeal court losses in Michigan and North Carolina in overseas voting fights
The Republican National Committee announced Tuesday that it would appeal losses it sustained Monday in lawsuits against Michigan and North Carolina challenging the procedures for overseas voting.
“We are appealing both decisions in Michigan and North Carolina because the law in both states is clear: if you’ve never lived there, you can’t influence their elections,” RNC spokeswoman Claire Zunk told the Washington Examiner.
The separate state court decisions will allow people who have never lived in the United States but were born overseas to parents or guardians who were residents of the States to vote without having to provide additional documents proving their identity during the 2024 election between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Republican challengers worry that overseas ballots could be wrongly counted as swing state votes, prompting concerns that there will be no clear indication that the overseas voters actually have ties to North Carolina and other battlegrounds.
“We are fighting to protect every legal vote, including from military and overseas citizens, to not be canceled by ineligible votes,” Zunk added.
Judge Sima Patel of Michigan’s Court of Claims said the RNC filed the lawsuit too late, calling it an “11th-hour attempt to disenfranchise” spouses and children of former Michigan residents who now live abroad.
In North Carolina, the RNC’s request for an emergency court order to require election officials to set aside ballots from overseas voters who had not lived in the state was denied by Wake County Superior Court Judge John W. Smith.
Smith said there was “absolutely no evidence that any person has ever fraudulently claimed that exemption and actually voted in any North Carolina election.”
A similar federal lawsuit was brought by GOP Pennsylvania Reps. Guy Reschenthaler, Dan Meuser, Glenn Thompson, Lloyd Smucker, Mike Kelly, and Scott Perry, all six of whom did not vote to certify the results of the 2020 election.
Legal experts have speculated that the Pennsylvania challenge will turn out similarly to the ones in Michigan and North Carolina, as the lawsuit was filed after state officials began sending out ballots to overseas voters. A ruling in that case is expected as early as this week.
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