South Carolina attorney general Alan Wilson has opted not to join a lawsuit filed by the attorney general of Texas asking the U.S. supreme court to throw out the results of four swing states in the contested 2020 presidential election. However, Wilson – and the attorneys general of sixteen other states – have filed a “friend of the court” brief urging the nation’s highest court to look favorably upon the lawsuit.
Texas attorney general Ken Paxton is challenging election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin – arguing these states “compromised the security and integrity of the 2020 election” by allegedly violating “statutes enacted by their duly elected legislatures, thereby violating the Constitution.”
Wilson’s view on the case?
“I am committed to protecting our voters against disenfranchisement as well as ensuring election integrity,” Wilson said in announcing his decision. “The Supreme Court will soon weigh in on the state of Texas’ suit for alleged unconstitutional acts in four states. Today, we are joining with several other state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in the Supreme Court supporting the state of Texas’ pleadings.”
All told, seventeen states (including South Carolina) joined the amicus brief in support of the court hearing the Texas case.
“Regardless of your ideological beliefs, we must all agree that free and fair elections are the keystone of democracy,” Wilson added. “Our Constitution’s election clauses must be followed, and the Constitution must be a guiding light for fair elections to continue to take place. Our values and the rule of law are worth defending.”
Last month, Wilson’s office filed an amicus brief in a case against Pennsylvania brought by attorney general Eric Schmitt of Missouri. In that case – which is still pending – Schmitt asked the U.S. supreme court to reverse a decision by the Pennsylvania supreme court allowing mail-in ballots to be received three days after election day (in violation of state law).
“We’re just asking that all legal votes be counted and illegal votes not be counted,” Wilson said at the time.
The Texas lawsuit obviously raises the stakes of alleged electoral fraud to a higher energy level.
According to the lawsuit (.pdf), the four swing states “exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to justify ignoring federal and state election laws.” It also accuses them of enacting “last-minute changes, thus skewing the results of the 2020 general election.”
“The battleground states flooded their people with unlawful ballot applications and ballots while ignoring statutory requirements as to how they were received, evaluated and counted,” a statement announcing the lawsuit noted.
This is a developing story, check back for additional updates …
-FITSNews
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