Show-Me State Times

Attorney General Eric Schmitt, along with 16 other attorneys general are standing behind a lawsuit filed by Texas against battleground states involving election results.

The 17 attorneys general filed an amicus brief in the case, saying that Texas’ bill of complaint raises many constitutional questions that are important for the country and warrant the court’s review. 

The brief makes three arguments, including saying the separation of powers provision that is in the Constitution’s Elector’s Clause is the structural check that safeguards liberty and holds the government in check.

The brief also argues that by removing those safeguards to allow widespread mail-in voting, they opened up more risks for voter fraud. It also contends that the battleground states abolished the safeguards against voter fraud from mail-in ballots.

The brief cites several examples of risks involving mail-in ballot fraud, noting a U.S. Supreme Court case known as Crawford v. Marion County Election Board, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice’s manual on election offenses and the Carter-Baker Commission of Federal Election Reform, among others.

The amicus brief contends that laws enacted by state legislatures are the only things that can establish when, where, and how elections for senators and representatives are held and that the law also applies to presidential electors. It argues that non-legislative actors in each of the battleground states went above their authority and violated the separation of powers.

The brief also lays out that the U.S. Constitution was allegedly violated. 

The brief supports Texas’ motion for leave to file its complaint. It argues that in each of the battleground states, there were issues that enhanced opportunities of fraud.

The other states that signed on with Missouri include Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah and West Virginia.