A federal judge on Thursday tossed out half of the Republican National Committee‘s lawsuit alleging that North Carolina election officials engaged in improper procedures and allowed noncitizens to register to vote, but sent a challenge targeting overseas voting rules to state court.
U.S. District Judge Richard E. Meyers, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, dismissed the RNC’s claim that election officials failed to comply with a federal law known as the Help America Vote Act, or HAVA, and mishandled the registrations of more than 225,000 voters.
The RNC argued the violations were spurred in part by the North Carolina State Board of Elections failing to collect the last four digits of Social Security numbers or driver’s license numbers, but ultimately Meyers found private litigants lack the right to sue under HAVA, according to his 44-page decision.
More courtroom battles on the way
Republicans are still litigating three other high-profile lawsuits in the key swing state of North Carolina that could have implications for the election. The suits target rules concerning absentee ballots, alleged noncitizen voting, and a dispute concerning the eligibility of certain overseas voters.
The overseas voting challenge surrounds the state constitution, which plaintiffs say forbids anyone from voting in the state if they have never resided there. The RNC contends the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act has been abused by state officials to allow anyone to register to vote online without providing valid identification information.
Republican challengers fear that overseas ballots could be wrongly counted as votes that originated from swing states, prompting concerns that there will be no clear indication that the overseas voters actually have ties to North Carolina and other swing states.
Meyers stayed his decision to remand half of the lawsuit to state court pending any appeals from either party.
The Washington Examiner contacted a representative for the RNC, and it is not immediately clear whether it will appeal the decision.
The lawsuit followed the North Carolina election board pulling more than 747,000 people off of voter registration rolls in September. The state has nearly 7.7 million registered voters on file.
Early voting began in the Tar Heel State on Thursday, and the presidential race there is exceedingly close, according to recent surveys.
Similar case awaits ruling in battleground Michigan
Meanwhile, a state court judge in Michigan on Thursday was wary of a similar challenge brought by the RNC in Michigan.
During a hearing before the Court of Claims, Judge Sima Patel pushed back when Michigan GOP lawyer Brandon Debus argued Michigan law does not permit overseas nonresidents of the state from voting in the general election, according to CNN.
“Isn’t that contrary to what the statute actually says?” Patel asked, later asking, “Doesn’t your interpretation penalize the children of overseas servicepeople?”
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The Michigan hearing ended Thursday afternoon without a ruling from the judge.
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris started her campaign in the summer with wider margins in the Wolverine State, while recent polls indicate she is neck and neck with Trump.