Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against four battleground states in the Supreme Court, contesting the 2020 presidential election results. Paxton himself is facing accusations of bribery and abuse of his office, according to a report by CBS News, drawing even more criticism down on his new lawsuit. He is calling on the Supreme Court to extend the Dec. 14 deadline to certify the election results.
Paxton’s suit is reportedly against Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan — all states that were key to President-elect Joe Biden‘s victory. All four states have formally certified their election results, but Paxton claims that they enacted unlawful changes to their voting laws, which skewed the election results. He also claims these changes left room for “irregularities” in the election, and he wants the Supreme Court to leave more time for investigation of these alleged irregularities.
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So far, multiple investigations around the country have turned up no real evidence of mass voter fraud, election tampering, or other irregularities, and dozens of President Donald Trump‘s lawsuits have now been dismissed by various courts. Still, Paxton calls the election results in these four states “unlawful” and wants the Supreme Court to block the use of “unlawful election results without review and ratification by” the states’ legislatures.
Paxton’s lawsuit has now received ridicule from the attorneys general of both Michigan and Wisconsin. Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel issued a public statement saying: “The motion filed by the Texas Attorney General is a publicity stunt, not a serious legal pleading.”
“The erosion of confidence in our democratic system isn’t attributable to the good people of Michigan, Wisconsin, Georgia or Pennsylvania but rather to partisan officials, like Mr. Paxton, who place loyalty to a person over loyalty to their country,” Nessel went on. “Mr. Paxton’s actions are beneath the dignity of the office of the Attorney General and the people of the great state of Texas.”
“I feel sorry for Texans that their tax dollars are being wasted on such a genuinely embarrassing lawsuit,” added Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul. “Texas is as likely to change the outcome of the Ice Bowl as it is to overturn the will of Wisconsin voters in the 2020 presidential election.”
If the Supreme Court does take Paxton’s lawsuit seriously, it will be an unprecedented use of the judicial branch’s already rarely-used power. It would also have to be done quickly, as the deadline for states to resolve election disputes and determine their electors was Tuesday, Dec. 8.
