A state Appeals Court panel last week upheld the dismissal of a baseless lawsuit challenging the voting eligibility of North Carolinians living abroad as part of military families based overseas.

The lawsuit challenged the application of a 2011 state statute which was passed with bipartisan support and had been implemented without issues since that time. The challenge is one of several attempting to disqualify varied sets of voters, and which have been filed on behalf of the Republican National Committee and the North Carolina Republican Party. 

The Outcome

“We applaud this decision, which ensures that the lawful votes cast by the family members of our overseas troops will be counted,” said retired Admiral Steve Abbot of Count Every Hero. “Our deployed military members and their families already face too many hurdles when voting, and efforts to challenge the lawful votes of these Americans run contrary to our national values and their service to our country.”

NC Superior Court Judge John W. Smith issued the original dismissal which was upheld by the Appeals Court. Smith determined that the plaintiffs had presented no evidence to support its claims of fraud. “Plaintiffs concede and the court finds that Plaintiffs have not presented any evidence of even a single specific instance of any registrant unlawfully availing themselves of the statutory provision,” Smith wrote. “All of the factual evidence presented to this court shows that Defendants have not and will not knowingly allow a non-resident who does not fall within the statutory exception to register or vote in our state elections.”

The Intent of These Challenges

The lawsuit is one in a series of cases pursued in North Carolina and other electoral swing states like Pennsylvania and Michigan by Republican Party entities. Analysts conclude that the intent of the challenges has been to undermine public confidence in the elections and to lay the groundwork for pursuing further court challenges if the Trump campaign does not prevail in the voting. More broadly, unfounded claims of fraud and fact-free legal challenges have become a staple of the attempt to return Trump to the presidency. Like the protection of our communities from runaway climate change, the protection of the people’s voice through free and fair elections is on the line in 2024.