Judges across the country are rejecting arguments made by\u00a0President Donald Trump’s\u00a0campaign and Republican leaders claiming voter fraud.<\/p>\n
For months,\u00a0Trump’s unsubstantiated claims\u00a0have formed the centerpiece of his assault on the integrity of the election. At one point he claimed in May that “there is NO WAY (ZERO!) that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent.” But a series of blistering decisions from federal judges appointed by presidents of both parties has made clear that such arguments are often baseless and difficult, if not impossible, to back up in court.<\/p>\n
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The weeks leading up to Election Day have seen a series of setbacks for the Trump-led effort, including in several swing states that could play significant roles in deciding the next president.<\/p>\n
Montana
\nDistrict Judge Dana Christensen referred to the Trump campaign’s argument as “fiction” in a case challenging Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock’s decision to allow counties to use an all-mail system for voting this year.<\/p>\n
“This case requires the Court to separate fact from fiction,” Christensen\u00a0wrote\u00a0in late September, adding, “Central to some of the (Trump campaign’s) claims is the contention that the upcoming election, both nationally and in Montana, will fall prey to widespread voter fraud. The evidence suggests, however, that this allegation, specifically in Montana, is a fiction.”<\/p>\n
Christensen ruled against the Trump campaign and Republican leaders, rejecting the effort to block the new directive.<\/p>\n
Speaking specifically about mail-in ballots, Christensen said they “present no significant risk of fraud.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ohio
\nA federal judge blocked an\u00a0order\u00a0from Ohio’s secretary of state that aimed to limit the number of ballot drop boxes to one per county and claimed this was an effort to reduce voter fraud.<\/p>\n
In his ruling, Judge Dan Polster said the order by Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose put a burden on counties with more people, creating a “very serious and looming problem” that could jeopardize the right to vote.<\/p>\n
Visit CNN’s Election Center for full coverage of the 2020 race<\/p>\n
Regarding claims of increased voter fraud, Polster said that “no evidence was introduced at the hearing to support the conclusory reference to fraud in the brief.”<\/p>\n
The judge denied LaRose’s request to stay his decision, writing, “As stated above, we are in the middle of the worst pandemic in a century coupled with reasonable concern over the ability of the U.S. Postal Service to handle what will undoubtedly be the largest number of absentee voters in Ohio’s history. The Secretary has not advanced any legitimate reason to prohibit a county board of elections from utilizing off-side drop boxes and\/or off-site delivery of ballots to staff.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
New Jersey<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Judges across the country are rejecting arguments made by\u00a0President Donald Trump’s\u00a0campaign and Republican leaders claiming voter fraud. For months,\u00a0Trump’s unsubstantiated claims\u00a0have formed the centerpiece of his assault on the integrity…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":47033,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n