NEW YORK: In Arizona, one of seven contested US states expected to decide the 2024 presidential election, an advocacy group founded by Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller is advancing a bold legal theory: that judges can reject election results for “failures or irregularities” by local officials.
The lawsuit by the America First Legal Foundation, a conservative advocacy group, says the court in such cases should be able to throw out the election results and order new rounds of voting in two counties in Arizona where Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Kamala Harris leads Trump. in the polls by a narrow margin.
Nearly four years after former President Trump and his allies tried and failed to overturn his election loss with a flurry of more than 60 lawsuits, Republicans have launched an aggressive legal campaign laying the groundwork to challenge potential losses.
The Republican National Committee says it is involved in more than 120 lawsuits in 26 states, in a strategy that some legal experts and voting rights groups say is intended to undermine faith in the system.
Republicans say the lawsuits are meant to restore faith in elections by making sure people don’t vote illegally. Trump and his allies have falsely claimed that his 2020 election loss to Joe Biden was tainted by widespread fraud.
While the Arizona case is likely a long shot, legal experts say it fits a pattern of Republican-backed lawsuits that appear aimed at casting doubt on the legitimacy of elections before they are held and providing fodder for contesting the results after the fact.
This is part of creating the narrative that there will be irregularities that will require outside intervention,” said Columbia Law School professor Richard Briffo.
The America First Legal Foundation, its attorneys and Miller did not respond to inquiries.
A spokesman for the Republican National Committee said the party’s top priority is to fix what they say are problems with voting systems before Election Day to ensure no illegal ballots are cast.
“Our Electoral Integrity business fights to secure elections, promoting transparency and fairness for every legitimate vote. This gives voters confidence that their ballots will be counted correctly and in turn inspires voter participation,” said RNC spokeswoman Claire Zunk.
Trump and Harris have been locked in a tight battle ahead of the Nov. 5 election, fueling a wave of lawsuits from both Democrats and Republicans as they wrangle over ground rules.
Republicans typically sue to enforce voting restrictions they say are necessary to prevent fraud, while Democrats generally ask the courts to keep voting accessible.
Harris’ campaign said in a statement that Republicans “are out to sow distrust in our elections and undermine our democracy so they can cry when they lose.” “The Harris-Walz team enters the opening stretch of this campaign with a strong voter and election protection business and the best lawyers in the country, ready for any challenge Republicans throw at us. We will give Americans the free and fair elections they deserve so that all eligible people can vote and those votes will be counted,” the campaign said.
In Michigan, another closely contested state, Republicans are suing to block state agencies from expanding access to voter registration, restricting the use of mobile voting sites like trucks and imposing stricter verification rules for mail-in ballots.
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