The RNC is suing officials in two battleground states this week over election integrity issues, with those state Republican parties also joining in.
On Thursday afternoon, the RNC announced that they, along with the Michigan GOP, and township clerk Cindy Berry, sued Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn, a Democrat, over failure to require proper verification of absentee ballots.
Michigan state law requires clerks to follow steps to verify absentee ballots, by marking the ballot envelopes with the date it was received, verifying the voter's signature, and provide a statement on the ballot that it was verified and thus approved for tabulation.
If the date or the approval statement is missing, the ballot cannot be tabulated under state law.
The lawsuit alleges that it appears that such a requirement "is not being universally observed." The lawsuit also alleges that "it further appears that the Secretary contributed to this confusion by issuing incomplete guidance materials."
"During this year’s statewide primary, the RNC Election Integrity team discovered that many ballots were approved for tabulation without the required statement that the signature was verified," the RNC mentioned in Thursday's announcement. "This is a direct result of Secretary Benson’s guidance to election officials, which omits the requirement that clerks mark ballots with a statement that the signatures have been verified."
The announcement also included statements from RNC Chairman Michael Whatley and MIGOP Chairman Pete Hoekstra:
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley stated: “Recent guidance issued by the Michigan Secretary of State will undermine protections for absentee voters, leading to improper handling and counting of absentee ballots. We are suing to protect absentee ballot safeguards in Michigan which will help make it easy to vote and hard to cheat in the Wolverine State.”
Michigan Republican Party Chairman Pete Hoekstra stated: "Our Secretary of State is actively interfering in Michigan's elections, disregarding the very laws she's supposed to enforce. The Michigan Republican Party will never stop fighting for the safety and security of our elections, so every single Michigander can feel confident in their vote, no matter how they choose to exercise that right."
The RNC and NCGOP similarly filed lawsuit suit in North Carolina last week to do with absentee ballots The RNC also scored a victory last month in Pennsylvania.
On Wednesday, the Trump campaign, RNC, the Nevada GOP, as well as a state voter also filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, a Democrat, over allowing noncitizens to vote. This is despite how, as the lawsuit emphasizes, "NEVADA DOES NOT ALLOW NONCITIZENS TO VOTE," with the job being on Aguilar to maintain those voter rolls.
"Past and recent evidence shows that noncitizen registration is worsening, but due to administrative failures it is impossible to know the full extent of the problem," the lawsuit also warns.
"We have discovered evidence of thousands of non-citizens on Nevada's voter rolls who may be able to cast ballots this November," the RNC's announcement warned. "Data from the 2020 general election reveals that 6,360 individuals listed in the DMV’s non-citizen file were also registered to vote, and 3,987 of these individuals cast a ballot in the 2020 election."
Election integrity starts with clean voter rolls.
— Michael Whatley (@ChairmanWhatley) September 11, 2024
That’s especially true in a state like Nevada, which automatically sends a mail ballot to every active voter listed on the roll.
Proud of this unified @GOP campaign to promote election integrity in the Silver State. https://t.co/nG29Dqa5Nb
Whatley and the NVGOP posted about the lawsuit, and the RNC sent out an announcement on Thursday which also included statements from Whatley and NVGOP Chairman Michael McDonald:
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley stated: "Allowing non-citizens to vote suppresses legal voters, undermines the democratic system, and violates the law. Democrats continue to put non-citizens first and Americans last as they allow non-citizens to vote and interfere in American elections. We have filed suit in Nevada to protect the vote and stop this Democrat election interference scheme.”
NVGOP Chairman Michael McDonald stated: "Nevada’s elections should be a reflection of its citizens’ voices, not influenced by non-citizens who have no legal standing to participate. Any efforts to allow non-citizens to vote threatens the very foundation of our elections and diminishes the power of lawful voters across our state. This isn't just a legal issue—it’s about protecting the rights of Nevadans and preserving the integrity of our elections."
Michigan and Nevada are both critical battleground states for the 2024 election. According to RealClearPolling, Vice President Kamala Harris leads Trump by just +0.9 in Michigan and by just +0.6 in Nevada.
Meanwhile, Democrats have tried to dismiss the concerns of noncitizens voting, as they did throughout Tuesday as part of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government held a hearing on "The Biden-Harris Border Crisis: Noncitizen Voting." Congressional Republicans are looking to rectify the issue by passing Rep. Chip Roy's (R-TX) SAVE Act bill which will ensure that only U.S. citizens are voting in our federal elections.
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