The Republican Party is escalating its legal battle against the overseas ballot process, a mechanism that has long served as a vital lifeline for American military personnel stationed abroad and citizens living outside the country.
According to CNN, Lawsuits filed in swing states such as Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Michigan are challenging the legitimacy of overseas ballots, which have consistently leaned Democratic in past elections and have raised the stakes for both parties as they brace for the upcoming electoral showdown on November 5.
With approximately 6.5 million eligible voters residing abroad—many of whom are in key battleground states—the implications are significant. The 2020 election was decided by a mere 44,000 votes across four pivotal states, and The narrative surrounding the lawsuits has been further fueled by former President Donald Trump’s repeated claims of widespread voter fraud, particularly regarding overseas ballots.
According to data from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, over 1.2 million ballots were sent overseas in the 2020 election cycle, with nearly 890,000 of those counted. Democrats argue that the GOP’s legal crusade threatens to undermine the voting rights of service members and expatriates alike, asserting that any last-minute changes to the rules governing overseas ballots could potentially disenfranchise thousands and contribute to a broader erosion of trust in the electoral process.
In Michigan, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has characterized the GOP’s lawsuits as deliberate tactics designed to “harass the Secretary and sow doubt about the integrity of the election,” while in Pennsylvania, Republican lawmakers are actively seeking to invalidate all overseas ballots, including those cast by military personnel. The Republican National Committee (RNC) is further advocating for the segregation of specific ballots in both North Carolina and Michigan, a move that could ignite contentious post-election disputes reminiscent of the chaos surrounding the 2020 election.
While the GOP claims that its primary objective is to clarify legal ambiguities surrounding the handling of overseas ballots, the potential consequences of their requests are far from straightforward. A court ruling that results in the delay of counting these ballots could create a misleading early lead for Trump, echoing strategies employed during the last election cycle when he called for halting the counting of mail-in votes that appeared to favor Democrats.
“Every single legal vote must be counted properly, and counting illegitimate votes dilutes that,” asserted an official from the RNC, encapsulating the party’s stance as it navigates this complex legal terrain.
As upcoming hearings in these cases are set to unfold at a rapid pace, a session in Michigan is scheduled for Thursday, followed closely by a federal hearing in Pennsylvania on Friday and another in North Carolina next week, signaling that the GOP’s legal strategies will soon face scrutiny in the courts.
The overseas voting system, established under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA), has enjoyed bipartisan support for nearly four decades. Despite the historical leanings of military voters toward the Republican Party, recent data indicates a notable shift in the overseas voting demographic. In the 2020 election, military personnel represented only 42.3% of UOCAVA voters, with civilian expatriates becoming an increasingly influential segment of the electorate.
Research reveals that many overseas voters now identify as Democrats, and in Michigan, for instance, only a quarter of the ballots sent in 2020 were cast by military personnel. “There are now more overseas civilian voters than military voters,” observed Michael McDonald, a political science professor at the University of Florida.
Democrats Abroad, an organization dedicated to supporting Americans living overseas, has been actively engaging its members to ensure they can participate in the electoral process. “We are millions of voters who can affect the outcome of elections,” emphasized Martha McDevitt-Pugh, the group’s international chair, illustrating the significance of this constituency.
In Michigan and North Carolina, the RNC is challenging existing laws that permit individuals without state residency to vote based on their parents’ previous residence, with GOP leaders arguing that the provisions violate state constitutions. Democrats, on the other hand, maintain that state legislatures possess the authority to expand voter eligibility, framing the issue as one of democratic inclusion versus partisan maneuvering.
Republican members of Congress in Pennsylvania are pressing for greater clarity on the processes governing overseas ballot applications, expressing concerns that inadequate vetting could compromise the integrity of the electoral system. In contrast, Democrats contend that these legal maneuvers pose a real threat to the voting rights of thousands, including those who serve in the military.
Rep. Pat Ryan, a veteran and Democrat from New York, has vocally criticized the tactics inherent in these lawsuits, warning that they are designed to intimidate voters. “They’re meant to intimidate voters,” he stated, underscoring the urgency of safeguarding the votes of those serving overseas, who already face numerous challenges in exercising their democratic rights.
