WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican Attorneys General from ten states, including Daniel Cameron from Kentucky, have filed a brief supporting President Donald Trump’s challenge to a group of votes that were cast in Pennsylvania.

What You Need To Know

  • Republican attorneys general filed a brief supporting President Donald Trump’s challenge to Pennsylvania's election

  • Republicans contend the state Supreme Court’s decision violated the constitution and unlawfully bypassed lawmakers.

  • The Republican Attorneys General Association said the vote-by-mail system still magnifies the possibility for fraud

  • Ultinately, the number of votes may be too small to change anything about the outcome of the presidential race.

 

The votes were received between 8 p.m. Tuesday night and Friday following a Pennsylvania Supreme Court order expanding the deadline for ballots to be received.

Republicans contend the state Supreme Court’s decision violated the constitution and unlawfully bypassed lawmakers. The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the ruling to stay in place with a split 4-4 decision prior to Election Day, but the court may take up the case again.

“When the Pennsylvania Supreme Court comes in and changes the law, rewrites the law, outside of their authority, that’s the issue,” Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said.

Schmitt is a member of the Republican Attorneys General Association. The group filed a brief supporting President Trump’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Once all legitimate votes are counted and irregularities are corrected, then irrespective of who the president is, we will continue to ensure that the rule of law is protected,” Louisiana Attorney General and RAGA chairman Jeff Landry said.

Cameron is listed on the challenge and he was originally scheduled to speak in support of the effort Monday but had to back out due to a scheduling issue according to a spokesperson for the Attorney General’s office.

Cameron issued a statement on Twitter, saying the action, “is about ensuring the rule of law is upheld during the election process.”

My statement regarding the rule of law in the election process:

 

 

Kentucky had similar rules allowing mail-in ballots to come in through the end of Friday last week, but those were set up by state officials rather than the courts. Kentucky’s election rules also required a clear postmark by Nov. 3 in order to count.

The Republican Attorneys General Association said the vote-by-mail system still magnifies the possibility for fraud in its brief, even though there haven’t been many if any, substantiated claims of voter fraud involving mail-in ballots in this year’s election.

“Overwhelming public evidence demonstrates that voting by mail presents unique opportunities for fraud and abuse, opportunities which unscrupulous actors have often exploited,” Schmitt claimed in the brief.

Cameron did not address those claims in his statement.

“In Pennsylvania, the state Supreme Court violated the U.S. Constitution by unilaterally changing the deadline for receipt of absentee ballots without authorization by the state legislature. The Pennsylvania court even went so far as to allow absentee ballots to be counted despite the fact that they were received after the election and contained no legible postmark. That did not occur in Kentucky,” Cameron spokeswoman Elizabeth Kuhn said in an email response to one of Spectrum News 1’s questions about the brief.

A request seeking further comment on Cameron’s faith in Kentucky’s election results have not been answered.

Pennsylvania officials have denied any fraud occurred with the election and ballots that came in after 8 p.m. election night have been ordered to be set aside anyways. Republicans cast doubt though over whether every county in the state abided by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s order to segregate the ballots.

Ultimately though, the number of votes may be too small to change anything about the outcome of the presidential race.