(JustPatriots.com)- The re-election campaign for President Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to block the absentee ballot plan of North Carolina. Their efforts in the federal appeals courts have thus far proven unfruitful.
North Carolina’s plan is to allow ballots that arrive as late as November 12 to be counted in the presidential election as long as they are postmarked by Election Day — November 3. The last time this matter was before a court, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals levied a 12-3 decision that allowed North Carolina to proceed with this plan.
The Trump re-election campaign is requesting an emergency injunction to stop it from taking place. They were joined by the North Carolina Republican Party and other parties in the lawsuit. They stated:
“An emergency injunction is urgently needed to ensure that our federal election is governed by the statutes enacted by the people’s duly elected representatives, and not by the whims of an unelected state agency.”
North Carolina is projected to be one of the most crucial states in the presidential election for both Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden. That’s one reason Trump’s re-election campaign is fighting so hard for voting laws there.
In recent years, North Carolina has only voted in favor of a Democrat once (in 2008). But recent polling shows that the two candidates are neck and neck heading into the last full week before the election.
Biden is leading Trump in North Carolina by 51% to 46%, according to a recent CBS News/YouGov poll.
North Carolina is also a key state for Republicans and Democrats in elections other than that for president. Republican Senator Thom Tillis is seeking re-election against Democrat Cal Cunningham. That same CBS/YouGov poll found, though, that Cunningham is currently leading the incumbent Tillis 49% to 43%.
The fight over mail-in ballots and early voting seems like it’s going to continue right up until the last minute this election cycle.
Republicans have been fighting hard against states’ expansion of mail-in ballots and/or extending the rules for doing so. Their claims have been that mail-in voting is ripe for fraud.
Democrats, meanwhile, have been pressing hard for expanded mail-in voting rights, saying it’s necessary given the state of affairs in America with the coronavirus pandemic. They are also pushing for these measures in part because it’s more likely that they could persuade non-voters to vote for Democratic candidates via mail-in ballot.
The Trump re-election campaign unsuccessfully tried to stop a similar mail-in rule in Pennsylvania from taking place. Last week, the Supreme Court kept in place a rule in that state that says ballots can be counted if they arrive after election day if they are either mailed or postmarked by November 3.
The Supreme Court’s ruling was a 4-4 tie, with Chief Justice John Roberts crossing the aisle to side with the three liberal justices on the court. Just like in this North Carolina case, the Trump re-election campaign was seeking an emergency injunction over Pennsylvania’s rule.
