In the 2020 U.S. presidential election, following former President Trump’s defeat, he and his allies launched a legal storm challenging the election results, filing over sixty lawsuits alleging election manipulation, voter fraud, and other issues in an attempt to overturn the election outcome, but without success.
This election saw disputes among both parties and some civil groups over the methods of voting, counting, and verifying votes, as well as the voting locations, leading to legal battles. So far, federal and state courts in 40 states across America have received 196 lawsuits.
According to Reuters on Friday (November 1), ahead of the election day next Tuesday (November 5), the Supreme Court has taken on several cases related to issues like the mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania four years ago. These cases may signal the beginning of the expected post-election litigation wave by legal experts, especially if Trump faces another close defeat in the election.
The Center for Election Innovation & Research is a non-partisan organization promoting voter participation and election security. Its executive director, David Becker, said, “The issue is not whether they will bring forth these claims, but whether the courts will give them any time.”
The majority of conservative justices on the Supreme Court include three appointed by Trump. In March, the Court overturned a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court to cancel Trump’s eligibility for Republican primary voting in that state based on rebellion provisions of the U.S. Constitution. In July, the Court ruled that Trump enjoys broad immunity from criminal prosecution in his efforts to overturn the 2020 election loss.
According to data from Democracy Docket, a lawsuit tracking website founded by Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias, there have been 196 pre-election lawsuits inundating federal and state courts across the country, spanning 40 states.
The Republican National Committee has filed dozens of lawsuits as part of a large-scale “election integrity” effort. The committee stated its goal is to ensure votes are accurately counted and prevent illegal voting. However, these efforts have faced repeated setbacks in court.
Democrats view this legal battle as a prelude to Republicans raising disputes over a potential Trump loss once again.
Election law expert Jason Torchinsky, who often represents Republicans, said challengers face significant obstacles when trying to challenge results after unsuccessful pre-election legal battles at lower courts.
Compared to the past, there are fewer avenues for the Supreme Court to intervene in elections. In 2020, the justices overturned some federal court orders that last-minute changes to voting rules for convenience during the pandemic.
However, in certain circumstances, the Supreme Court could still intervene, and as the margin of victory narrows, the possibility increases.
Currently, Republicans are seeking Supreme Court intervention in the Pennsylvania mail-in ballot case.
Becker said, “There are still some issues in Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has not made a decision. After the election, there could be a very small margin of votes, some unclear issues could have an impact, and I believe the Supreme Court may have to intervene.”
This case involves the Republican challenge to a ruling by the state Supreme Court on October 23, which required the counting of provisional ballots cast by voters whose mail-in ballots contained errors, potentially numbering in the thousands.
In 2020, Republicans opposed a decision by the Pennsylvania court allowing ballots to be sent out before election day with a postmark as proof, but only being received up to three days later. At that time, the justices refused to block that decision and later declined to review the case months after the election.
This year, the Pennsylvania court’s ruling states that individuals whose mail-in ballots were rejected due to missing signatures, dates, or secrecy envelopes can cast provisional ballots on election day, which may be counted.
Torchinsky noted that the dispute will depend on how many votes are ultimately affected, which is currently unknown. He said, if a judge “orders these ballots to be set aside, and the difference between candidates is 500 votes and there are 3,000 such ballots, then the court has to deal with it.”