Although more than three years have passed since U.S. President Joe Biden won the presidential elections, former President Donald Trump still continues with his baseless claims that the election was manipulated. Despite a lack of substantial proof to back his claims, Trump uses every opportunity to repeat the allegations, eliciting enthusiastic responses from his supporters. Trump is now again running for the White House office and is the presumptive Republican nominee.
Legal issues
Trump is currently facing 91 criminal charges in four states and districts. One of these cases, in Georgia, is about Trump’s efforts to overturn the elections. The State of Georgia v. Donald J. Trump is a pending criminal case against Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants. The prosecution alleges that Trump led a “criminal racketeering enterprise”, in which he and all other defendants “knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome” of the 2020 U.S. presidential election in Georgia.
Preparations
Following his recent nomination, Trump’s campaign and the Republican Party are now intensively preparing for the presidential contest. With the November election on the horizon, Trump’s team is diligently working to prevent any discrepancies that could impact the election outcome. In line with these efforts, the Republican National Committee (RNC) recently initiated legal action against Michigan’s Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, demanding a review of the state’s voter registration rolls.
The lawsuit
The Republican National Committee claims that Michigan hasn’t met its obligations under the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), which demands that voter registration lists be accurate. They have taken this issue to a federal court, stating that in Michigan, 53 out of 83 counties have more registered voters than adults who are old enough to vote. In addition, they mention that in 23 counties, more than 90% of adults over 18 are signed up to vote, according to the lawsuit.
Similar lawsuit dismissed
This isn’t the first time Michigan has been accused of not following the NVRA’s rules. The lawsuit references a 2020 case where Michigan’s election authorities were charged with breaking this law, but that case was eventually dropped. The RNC’s legal action is timed interestingly, occurring right after some of Trump’s closest allies gained influential roles within the committee and shortly after Trump was announced as the Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential race.
Michigan key swing state
Being a swing state, Michigan plays a critical role in elections. In the 2020 elections, Michigan voters chose President Biden, who won by 154,000 votes, despite Trump’s efforts to challenge the certification of these results. However, current polls suggest that Michigan voters who backed Biden in 2020 might now be leaning towards Trump. Even with support from the United Auto Workers Union early in the campaign, Biden is finding it challenging to secure backing from Black, Arab, and Muslim communities in the state.
The National Voter Registration Act
The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) says that states must run a program to keep voter registration lists current. They should make a “reasonable effort” to remove voters that no longer should be on the list because they have died or moved away. At the same time, it ensures that people aren’t taken off the list just because they haven’t voted in a while. The maintenance program must be “uniform, nondiscriminatory and in compliance with the Voting Rights Act,” the Department of Justice said.
Michigan actively updates its voters’ lists
Since taking office, more than 700,000 names have been crossed off the voter list, and there are plans to remove more if they don’t participate in the upcoming general election. Benson points out that federal data shows Michigan as the fifth most diligent state in removing deceased voters from its voter lists.
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“Let’s call this what it is: a PR campaign masquerading as a meritless lawsuit filled with baseless accusations that seek to diminish people’s faith in the security of our elections,” Benson’s statement to NBC News said. “Shame on anyone who abuses the legal process to sow seeds of doubt in our democracy.”
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