Invalidation Intent? ... US Republican Party Files Multiple Lawsuits Over Mail-in Voting in Swing States

Over 40.5 Million Early Votes Cast... Highest Midterm Election Turnout Ever
WP: "May Influence Election Results in Ultra-Close Regions"

On the 5th (local time), a sign urging people to vote in the November 8 midterm elections was posted in downtown Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] The U.S. Republican Party has filed lawsuits to invalidate mail-in ballots in three key battleground states in the midterm elections. If thousands of ballots are invalidated, it could affect the overall outcome of the election.

According to the Washington Post (WP) on the 7th (local time), as of the day before the midterm elections, the Republicans have filed lawsuits in at least three battleground states to invalidate thousands of mail-in ballots. Critics say this is a dangerous strategy that violates democratic election principles, as it is essentially an attempt to neutralize Democratic votes.

According to the election site "U.S. Election Project," operated by researchers at the University of Florida, more than 40.5 million people had participated in early voting as of that day. With the highest early voting turnout expected for the midterms, the Republicans have filed lawsuits to invalidate thousands of mail-in ballots. WP pointed out that this scale could influence election results in regions showing extremely close races.

In Pennsylvania, the Republican National Committee and the state Supreme Court have already agreed not to count mail-in ballots that do not have the voting date written on the envelope. Envelopes that arrived before Election Day also fall under this category, and thousands of ballots are expected to be invalidated. CNN cited election officials in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's largest city, reporting that more than 3,400 mail-in ballots are likely to be invalidated for failing to meet requirements.

In Michigan, Republican candidate for Secretary of State Christina Carraomo filed a lawsuit last month against Detroit election officials to invalidate absentee ballots without presented identification. Detroit is a representative Democratic-leaning area in Michigan with a high proportion of Black voters.

In Wisconsin, the Republicans have already won a lawsuit to exclude from counting mail-in ballots that lack a properly provided address of the witness certifying that the vote was not cast by proxy. WP noted, "Even if based on some state laws, such invalidation attempts violate federal law, which prohibits disenfranchising voters over minor errors."

Since the 2020 presidential election, conspiracy theories about the reliability of mail-in voting have been continuously raised in the U.S. Former President Trump claimed during the last election that "ballots would be sent to people who are already deceased or even to dogs and cats," suggesting that large-scale election fraud could occur because ballots are sent to anyone.

However, the possibility of election fraud through mail-in voting has been found to be extremely low. Oregon, which has conducted over 100 million mail-in votes since 2000, reported a fraud rate of only 0.0000001%. Additionally, according to the conservative think tank Heritage Foundation, there have been 206 cases of mail-in voting fraud in all U.S. elections over the past 30 years, accounting for only 0.00006% of all mail-in votes.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.