Six states formally joined the state of Texas’ election lawsuit against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin that challenges the results of the 2020 presidential election.
“Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Utah have formally joined Texas in its Supreme Court suit against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin—four battleground states who ran illegal and unconstitutional elections,” the state of Texas said in a statement. “The joining states agree with Texas: the defendant states exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to justify unlawfully enacting last-minute changes and ignoring both federal and state election laws, thus skewing the results of the 2020 General Election. ”
“Texas continues to lead the fight to protect election security and integrity, and today I gladly welcome Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Utah to this historic endeavor. By flouting state and federal election laws, the defendant battleground states have tainted the integrity of citizens’ votes across the entire nation,” said Attorney General Paxton. “To restore trust in the integrity of our election process, we must tirelessly defend its security and hold accountable those who discarded our Constitution for their own convenience. Texas is proud to have these states by its side in shining the bright light of justice.”
The lawsuit, filed by Paxton, seeks to invalidate the election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin because, Paxton alleges, those states exploited “the COVID-19 pandemic to justify ignoring federal and state election laws and unlawfully enacting last-minute changes, thus skewing the results of the 2020 General Election.”
The six states that formally joined the lawsuit had all voiced public support for the lawsuit this week along with 11 other states. The news comes after The New York Times reported yesterday that President Donald Trump had asked Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to present the case in front of the Supreme Court, should the nation’s highest court agree to hear it.
The lawsuit alleges that “certain officials in the Defendant States presented the pandemic as the justification for ignoring state laws regarding absentee and mail-in voting.” The lawsuit says that the election results were “less secure” in the Defendant States. Top U.S. election officials have disputed this claim, saying that last month’s elections were “the most secure in American history.”
The lawsuit states:
This case presents a question of law: Did the Defendant States violate the Electors Clause by taking non-legislative actions to change the election rules that would govern the appointment of presidential electors? These non-legislative changes to the Defendant States’ election laws facilitated the casting and counting of ballots in violation of state law, which, in turn, violated the Electors Clause of Article II, Section 1, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution. By these unlawful acts, the Defendant States have not only tainted the integrity of their own citizens’ vote, but their actions have also debased the votes of citizens in Plaintiff State and other States that remained loyal to the Constitution.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) announced on Twitter that he does not support the lawsuit because he believes that the case “itself represents a dangerous violation of federalism & sets a precedent to have one state asking federal courts to police the voting procedures of other states.”
Today, a number of my colleagues will be filing an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit filed by the State of Texas regarding the election results of several other states. Respectfully, I will not join because I believe the case itself represents a dangerous violation… (1/5)
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) December 10, 2020
“To be certain, the reckless adoption of massive mail-in ballots and changes to important signature matching (& other rules) in these and other states increased the casting of illegal votes and undermine confidence in our elections,” Roy continued. “The American people are raising legitimate questions & they deserve answers. I strongly support the continued pursuit of litigation where most likely to succeed – such as Georgia to bring to light any illegal votes & encourage, if necessary, state legislatures to alter their electors accordingly. But, I cannot support an effort that will almost certainly fail on grounds of standing and is inconsistent with my beliefs about protecting Texas sovereignty from the meddling of other states.”
…states increased the casting of illegal votes and undermine confidence in our elections. The American people are raising legitimate questions & they deserve answers. I strongly support the continued pursuit of litigation where most likely to succeed – such as Georgia… (3/5)
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) December 10, 2020
Roy concluded, “Our remedy must be, from this day forward, to decline to allow the usurpation of our authority as people – through our states – to govern ourselves in all respects.”
…sovereignty from the meddling of other states. Our remedy must be, from this day forward, to decline to allow the usurpation of our authority as people – through our states – to govern ourselves in all respects. #StandUpForAmerica #Federalism (5/5)
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) December 10, 2020