Efforts by the GOP to challenge overseas balloting rules faced obstacles in two crucial swing states.

In Michigan and North Carolina, judges rejected Republican efforts to restrict overseas voting by U.S. residents living abroad, citing the short timeline and the proposed remedy as inadequate.

In Michigan, a claims court judge characterized the effort as an attempt to disenfranchise voters residing abroad, while a Superior Court judge in North Carolina ruled that the plaintiffs failed to provide substantial evidence to support their allegations that the current laws do not adequately safeguard against election fraud.

In the aftermath of lawsuits filed by Republicans in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and North Carolina to limit the registration and verification process for overseas voters, two separate court rulings have been issued.

Republicans contended that the current law allows foreign residents to vote in U.S elections without proper identification, while Democrats vehemently rejected this claim, arguing that the level of vetting proposed by Republicans would disenfranchise "tens of thousands" of voters abroad, including U.S service members and their families.

Two separate decisions filed Monday suggest that judges in U.S. battleground states support this line of thinking.

Judge Sima Patel of Michigan's Court of Claims rejected the plaintiffs' attempt to overturn a rule that enables U.S. service members' spouses and dependents to vote at their former home address, even if they have never resided in the state.

The GOP-led lawsuit, filed 28 days before the election, was criticized by Patel as resulting in "extreme prejudice" for both would-be voters and election administrators.

"In accordance with federal law, the Michigan Legislature opted to include a select group of individuals who travel with family members abroad in the category of Michigan residents for voting purposes, as they are linked to the state through their spouse, parent, or someone performing a parental role, Patel stated. He emphasized that it is challenging to envision a more discriminatory scenario resulting from the plaintiffs' delay."

The law for overseas voters has been in place for 12 years and had not been challenged until now, as Patel pointed out.

In North Carolina, Wake County Superior Court Judge John Smith rejected the GOP lawsuit that sought to establish similar rules for absentee voting and spouses of U.S. service members, stating that the current overseas voting statute, which was adopted in 2011 with bipartisan support, had not been challenged until the filing of this lawsuit.

He stated that the plaintiffs had not demonstrated any chance of irreparable harm due to the actions of the voters in question.

In Pennsylvania, judges are expected to rule on three separate lawsuits filed by Republicans in recent weeks, which seek to limit the rights of overseas voters and their registration under the 1986 Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA).

Republicans have been criticized by Democrats for their last-minute legal push to restrict voter turnout from a demographic that has traditionally supported the GOP.

Over 1.2 million overseas ballots were cast in the 2020 election, as per data from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

In a close race to Election Day, these voters in toss-up states could determine the outcome of the 2024 presidential election.

Members of our military deployed outside of the United States are being actively disenfranchised by election-denying extremists who are afraid of losing this election, as Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Pennsylvania Democrat and Air Force veteran, stated on Planet Chronicle.

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