Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Overturn Presidential Vote
The Supreme Court on Friday denied Texas’ bid to overturn the presidential election, finding in a brief order that the state does not have standing to challenge voting procedures in four states that went for President-elect Joe Biden.
The Texas attorney general brought the suit against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — marking only the latest of dozens of efforts by President Trump and his supporters to overturn the election result.
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“Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections,” the court said in an unsigned ruling. “All other pending motions are dismissed as moot.”
More than 100 House Republicans signed on to a brief supporting the lawsuit, and 17 states also signed an amicus brief backing Texas’ unprecedented effort.
In a filing on Thursday, the state of Pennsylvania argued that Texas’ effort was a threat to democracy.
“Texas seeks to invalidate elections in four states for yielding results with which it disagrees,” the state’s attorneys argued. “Its request for this Court to exercise its original jurisdiction and then anoint Texas’s preferred candidate for President is legally indefensible and is an affront to principles of constitutional democracy.”
Justice Samuel Alito dissented from the majority’s order, saying he does not believe the court has discretion to reject a state’s motion for leave to file a complaint. He said he would not grant any other relief, and did not weigh in on the other issues raised by the case. Justice Clarence Thomas joined with Alito.
Trump has pinned his hopes since losing the Nov. 3 election on the Supreme Court, a third of whose members he appointed. In the closing weeks of the presidential campaign, he said it was important for the Senate to confirm Justice Amy Coney Barrett, so that the court would have a full complement to resolve election disputes.
Just hours before the court’s ruling, Trump was still looking to the court to invalidate millions of votes and grant him a second term.
“If the Supreme Court shows great Wisdom and Courage, the American People will win perhaps the most important case in history, and our Electoral Process will be respected again!” he said on Twitter.
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