Missouri, Kentucky AGs Join Lawsuit Challenging Pennsylvania Mail-In Ballot Deadline Extension

Electoral workers began processing ballots at Northampton County Courthouse in Easton, Pa., on Nov. 3, 2020. Kena Betancur/AFP via Getty Images

Attorneys general in Missouri and Kentucky have joined a Republican lawsuit challenging Pennsylvania mail-in ballots before the U.S. Supreme Court, according to multiple reports.

A spokesperson for Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt was cited by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as saying that Schmitt intends to add his name to an amicus brief—a legal document that can be filed by a non-party in a given case—in a lawsuit brought by the Pennsylvania Republican Party challenging the state’s Supreme Court decision to extend by three days the deadline for receiving mail-in ballots, provided they are postmarked by Election Day.

Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron will also join the court filing, according to the Louisville Courier Journal, citing plans for attorneys general from Louisiana, Georgia, and Missouri to hold a virtual conference later Monday on what the outlet characterized as “major legal action.”

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, who heads the Republican Association of Attorneys General, said in a series of statements on Twitter that the legal process should be allowed to play out before declaring a victor in the 2020 presidential election.

“No outlet or campaign should rush to calling the 2020 race until every LEGALLY cast vote is counted,” he wrote, adding, “While the mainstream media and big tech want to immediately declare a winner, the American people have and can again wait a couple days or weeks more to guarantee the legitimacy of this election.”

Biden was declared by a number of media outlets as president-elect on Saturday after projected victories in Pennsylvania and Nevada put him over the 270 electoral vote threshold. President Donald Trump has alleged voter fraud and said any declarations of victory are premature, with his campaign announcing a raft of legal challenges.

“The simple fact is this election is far from over,” Trump said in a statement. “Joe Biden has not been certified as the winner of any states, let alone any of the highly contested states headed for mandatory recounts, or states where our campaign has valid and legitimate legal challenges that could determine the ultimate victor.”

“Legal votes decide who is president, not the news media,” Trump added.

Biden has claimed victory in the presidential race, changing his Twitter handle to read “president-elect,” while many media outlets have begun referring to him as such.

The Epoch Times is not calling the race until all legal challenges are resolved.

Biden’s declaration of victory prompted pushback from Trump, who said in a statement: “We all know why Joe Biden is rushing to falsely pose as the winner, and why his media allies are trying so hard to help him: They don’t want the truth to be exposed.”

“The American people are entitled to an honest election: That means counting all legal ballots, and not counting any illegal ballots. This is the only way to ensure the public has full confidence in our election,” Trump said.

There has been no election in decades in which such widespread fraud was alleged. The closest was the 1960 election in which Democrat John F. Kennedy beat Republican Richard Nixon, and there were allegations that fraud helped Kennedy win.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has not yet made any public statements regarding the election.

“I’m not sure his position would have changed from yesterday—count all the votes, adjudicate all the claims,” said Scott Jennings, a Republican strategist in Kentucky allied with McConnell. “My sense is there’s won’t be any tolerance for beyond what the law allows. There will be tolerance for what the law allows.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.