Republican Attorneys General Taking Legal Action over Pennsylvania Mail-in Ballots

Republican attorneys general from across the U.S. are taking legal action in Pennsylvania to challenge mail-in ballots.

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, and Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter spoke about the subject during a virtual press conference Monday afternoon.

“We have constantly reminded the American people that we represent and stand up for the rule of law,” Landry, the chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association, said. “As such, we believe the voting system should be free of outside, undue influence.”

Landry compared President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden’s presidential race to “referees getting to change the rules midway through the football game.”

“We believe that’s exactly what the Pennsylvania Supreme Court did,” Landry said.

Schmitt, who was instrumental in bringing this brief forward, said the attorneys general filed this brief Monday “seeking the Supreme Court to take the Pennsylvania case and then reverse the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision.”

In the brief, Schmitt said they highlighted the issue of “separation of powers,” specifically to state legislatures “granting time, place, and manner” for their state’s frameworks.

Schmitt said the state Supreme Court “overstepped” its bounds when dealing with the state legislature.

Schmitt also said the brief dealt with “election integrity,” and called mail-in ballots the “most likely form of fraud.”

He then cited a recent case in Missouri where a local official was indicted for ballot fraud.

Hunter called the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s actions “one of the most breathtaking abuses of judicial authority.”

He then explained that the group as attorneys general had a responsibility to “address that kind of abuse of judicial authority” because it can affect election outcomes not just in Pennsylvania but nationwide.

“We are seeking the Supreme Court to take this case,” Schmitt said. “We think this is a very, very important case.”

Before the election, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said it would allow mail-in ballots to be counted post-Election Day without evidence of a postmark. The state Supreme Court also ruled before the election that ballots cannot be tossed over a mismatched signature.