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Courts in Michigan and North Carolina have recently dismissed Republican efforts to disqualify ballots from certain overseas voters. These legal challenges specifically targeted individuals who were born abroad to parents who were residents of the states but had never lived there themselves. Additionally, the Michigan lawsuit also aimed at the spouses of military and overseas voters.
In Michigan, the case was dismissed by a state judge who cited the late filing—less than a month before the presidential election on November 5—as a primary reason. Furthermore, the judge affirmed that the voting provisions for these individuals were consistent with both state and federal laws, as well as the Michigan Constitution.
The plaintiffs in these lawsuits included the state Republican Party and the Republican National Committee (RNC), part of a wider legal initiative concerning overseas ballots in key presidential battlegrounds ahead of the upcoming election. The RNC did not respond to requests for comments regarding the rulings.
Meanwhile, in North Carolina, a judge from Wake County Superior Court rejected a preliminary injunction that Republicans sought against the state’s Board of Elections. This ruling ensures that individuals who have never resided in North Carolina, but were born to parents or guardians who were state residents, will be able to vote in the forthcoming presidential election.
Republicans have claimed that allowing these so-called “Never Residents” to vote violates a requirement in the state constitution mandating voter residency. They suggested that the ballots from these voters could facilitate election fraud, although no evidence has been presented to support this assertion.
In the ruling issued on Monday, the judge emphasized the lack of evidence for claims of fraudulent activity in North Carolina, noting that the Republicans had not pointed to any examples linked to the group of voters they were challenging.
The Democratic National Committee intervened in the North Carolina case, highlighting that many affected voters are children of U.S. military personnel stationed overseas. They argued that the timing of the Republican legal action, targeting a law enacted over a decade ago, was intended to create mistrust surrounding this year’s elections.
In Michigan, the judge further noted that the provisions being contested had been established since 2017. Judge Sima G. Patel remarked that challenges could have been raised at any point after the law was implemented, suggesting that the lawsuit should have been filed much earlier in the election cycle rather than so close to the election date.
Source
abcnews.go.com