As election day approaches, courts have been making a series of decisions that bear on how Americans’ votes get counted in the 2024 election cycle.
Virginia, a critical swing state, sought the Supreme Court’s intervention yesterday—just eight days before Election Day—after two lower courts blocked its effort to purge non-citizens from its voter rolls. The Justice Department (DOJ) had sued the commonwealth and won an injunction over its purported violation of the National Voter Registration Act’s prohibition on systematic attempts to clean up voter rolls 90 days before an election.
DOJ filed a similar lawsuit in Alabama, which resulted in a separate injunction by a federal judge. The same law was part of the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) challenge to Michigan’s alleged failure to maintain its voter roles, but a federal judge dismissed the party’s lawsuit on Oct. 22.
Mail-in ballots have been a controversial issue, especially after their widespread use during the 2020 presidential election, with questions surrounding their reliability. Two ballot boxes were reportedly burned on Oct. 28 in Washington and Oregon.
Two rulings on mail-in ballots have come from the Nevada Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in the weeks leading up to the election. The first held on Oct. 28 that late-arriving ballots could be counted up to three days after the election, while the other held on Oct. 25 that the Constitution required ballots be counted on election day.
The RNC, which sought stricter limits on counting in Mississippi and Nevada, recently told The Epoch Times it was involved with more than 130 lawsuits across 26 states this election cycle.
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The party also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt a ruling by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which voted 5-4 to allow provisional ballots from individuals who improperly cast mail-in ballots.
Elon Musk, who endorsed former President Donald Trump, came under fire in Philadelphia, where the city’s district attorney sued to halt what he described as an “illegal lottery” promoted by the billionaire. Musk’s America PAC is giving away $1 million every day to a person who has signed a petition supporting the Constitution.
Other lawsuits have been filed over policies surrounding results certification, overseas voters, voting by convicted felons, mail-in ballots, and voter rolls. Georgia, another potential swing state, attempted to install seven new rules before the election, but each was struck down by a superior court judge earlier this month.
–Sam Dorman
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Former President Donald Trump spoke before a massive crowd of supporters at Madison Square Garden in New York City as Election Day neared. The Epoch Times’ Ivan Pentchoukov has the highlights, including Trump’s newly announced tax credit for family caregivers, his “Little secret” to victory in Congress, and his call with Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
President Joe Biden was seen casting his ballot on Oct. 28 in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware. Biden, who bowed out of the race in July, described the voting experience as “sweet” and described some of Trump’s comments at Madison Square Garden as “embarrassing,” The Epoch Times’ Emel Akan reported.
Findings from the American Psychological Association, Centers for Disease Control, and Surgeon General have highlighted the level of stress that comes with modern parenting. An in-depth report from The Epoch Times’ Samantha Flom explores its connection to children’s mental health and possible solutions amid the chaos.
The latest campaign filings show Vice President Kamala Harris outpacing her competitor, former President Donald Trump, in both spending ($304.5 million vs. $143.7 million) and fundraising ($295.3 million vs. $117 million) for the first half of October. Austin Alonzo of The Epoch Times has more on this and the sources of funding.
Can Boeing recover from its recent string of public relations disasters? The Epoch Times’ Andrew Moran explores this question while delving into the company’s financials and experts’ views of Boeing’s predicament.
–Sam Dorman
