The Democratic Nationwide Committee is looking for to intervene in a lawsuit introduced by Pennsylvania Republicans aimed toward curbing using mail voting, in response to a duplicate of the submitting shared with NBC Information.
Fourteen Pennsylvania Republican legislators filed a lawsuit in opposition to the commonwealth on Aug. 31, arguing {that a} 2019 legislation that expanded entry to mail voting to all eligible voters was unconstitutional, in response to The Related Press.
Many of the plaintiffs voted to cross the legislation two years in the past — however since then, many Republicans have adopted former President Donald Trump’s lead in attacking the tactic of voting.
The DNC and the Pennsylvania Democratic Social gathering filed the movement to intervene on Friday afternoon, arguing that the mail voting legislation is legitimate and constitutional.
They’re intervening partly as a result of the lawsuit has been expedited by the courtroom, and is anticipated to maneuver quickly by the authorized course of this fall, an legal professional representing the DNC mentioned.
Within the lead as much as the 2020 election, because the coronavirus pandemic prompted election officers in quite a few states to broaden entry to mail voting, then-President Trump repeatedly unfold falsehoods in regards to the safety of mail voting. There isn’t a proof of widespread fraud in mail voting, or any sort of voting within the U.S., and mail ballots are verified by election officers with voters’ signatures and different mechanisms.
“The DNC is taking motion to make sure that all eligible Pennsylvania voters are given an equal alternative to take part in our elections, and we stand able to step in to defend the liberty to vote wherever partisan lawsuits are dropped at assault voters’ potential to forged a poll,” DNC Chair Jaime Harrison mentioned in an announcement.
Due to the brand new legislation, in addition to public well being considerations about congregating on the polls throughout the coronavirus pandemic, mail voting significantly exploded in Pennsylvania, surging a whopping 883 % within the 2020 election in comparison with 2016, in response to NBC Information election outcomes.
Greater than 2.6 million Pennsylvanians voted by mail, most of them Democrats. President Joe Biden received the commonwealth by greater than 80,000 votes. On Election Night time, early returns gave Trump a lead, however as soon as mail ballots had been processed, Biden took the lead. These pivotal electoral votes delivered Biden the presidency on Nov. 7.
The lawsuit is the newest in a nationwide effort by Republican state legislators to rein in mail voting after Democrats uniquely embraced the follow in 2020.
Republicans, led by U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, filed the same go well with in Pennsylvania final 12 months and tried to have thousands and thousands of Democratic ballots thrown out. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court docket dominated the plaintiffs had waited too lengthy to problem the mail voting legislation, which they did solely after Trump had misplaced. The U.S. Supreme Court docket later declined Republicans’ request to cease the certification of the outcomes or to let legislators select the presidential electors.
“It’s extra vital than ever that we sustain the battle for stronger participation in our democracy, and we’re proud to face with our companions to defend the voices of on a regular basis Pennsylvanians,” Pennsylvania Democratic Social gathering Chairwoman Nancy Patton Mills mentioned in an announcement.
