Trump’s team has had their eyes on the Supreme Court for a while now. In recent days, seventeen states and 120 House Republicans have joined a suit filed against swing states claiming they made changes to voting rules through the courts instead of state legislatures. After much anticipation, the highest court has decided to reject the motion due to a lack of standing.
Supreme Court Order to Texas by Breitbart News
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a case directly to the Supreme Court, challenging the Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan, and Wisconsin election results.
The Case
The suit argued that the four states illegally made changes to the voting rules through the courts instead of through state legislatures, violating the Electors Clause. It also argues the differences in voting rules in different counties violated the Constitution’s Equal Protection Clause and cites claims of voting irregularities in each state.
“The State of Texas’s motion for leave to file a bill of complaint is denied for lack of standing under Article III of the Constitution,” the statement from the Supreme Court read. “Texas has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections.”
President Trump repeatedly referred to the Texas case as “The big one” and also urged the Supreme Court justices to have the “wisdom” and the “courage” to take up the case.
Justice Samuel Alito issued a statement with the dismissal joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, arguing that the Supreme Court should take up the case. “In my view, we do not have the discretion to deny the filing of a bill of complaint in a case that falls within our original jurisdiction,” Alito wrote, arguing that he would grant the motion to file the bill of complaint.
But Alito signaled he would not have granted the state of Texas the ability to halt the election certification as the challenge requested. “I would therefore grant the motion to file the bill of complaint but would not grant other relief, and I express no view on any other issue,” he concluded.
All three justices appointed by Trump, Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch, did not voice an opinion on the case.
