More than a third of U.S. states have joined the State of Texas in its lawsuit seeking to prevent electors in four contested battleground states from casting their votes for presumptive President-elect Joe Biden.
On Tuesday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit in the Supreme Court arguing that electors from the states of Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania should not vote because the voting processes allowing mail-in voting were changed unconstitutionally in each of the four states.
Joe Biden was recently certified as the winner of all four states.
Seventeen states that President Trump won filed an amicus brief Wednesday, supporting Texas’ case. The states are: Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.
Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt announced the brief on social media, tweeting, “Today, led by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, 17 states filed an amicus brief in support of [Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s] election lawsuit, which was filed yesterday.”
Today, led by Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, 17 states filed an amicus brief in support of @TXAG‘s election lawsuit, which was filed yesterday.
Read more about the filing here: https://t.co/mKaqGvUpdE#MOLeg pic.twitter.com/slRujGfBgq
— Attorney General Eric Schmitt (@AGEricSchmitt) December 9, 2020
Mark Brnovich, Arizona’s Attorney General, filed another brief in support of the lawsuit.
Also on Wednesday, President Trump reportedly tapped Republican Sen. Ted Cruz to argue the case before the nation’s highest court. The president also filed a motion to intervene in the case “in his personal capacity” as a presidential candidate, CNBC reported.
Seventeen former officials and lawmakers responded by filing their own brief in support of the four defendant states. The group claimed that the Texas case should not be heard in the Supreme Court, arguing Paxton’s assertions should be made elsewhere.
“The Constitution does not make this Court the multi-district litigation panel for trials of presidential election disputes,” the brief stated.
“[Paxton’s] Motions make a mockery of federalism and separation of powers,” the brief continued. “It would violate the most fundamental constitutional principles for this Court to serve as the trial court for presidential election disputes.”
The suit comes amid claims of widespread voter fraud and suppression. According to Politico, 70 percent of Republicans believe the 2020 election was not free and fair. Ninety percent of Democrats, on the other hand, believe the election was free and fair, an increase from 52 percent when asked if they thought it would be prior to the election.
