GOP has filed dozens more election lawsuits than 2020 — and with 'better lawyers': expert
Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. (AFP)
September 18, 2024
A voting rights advocate and lawyer joined MSNBC on Wednesday to update the public on the state of pre-election litigation and the Republican Party's efforts to fight rules ahead of the November vote.
Speaking to MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace on "Deadline: White House," Marc Elias, founder of Democracy Docket, noted that 13 lawsuits were filed ahead of the 2020 election. In 2024, that number climbed to 81 lawsuits by Republicans.
"Donald Trump used frivolous litigation in his career as a builder, in his career as a casino owner, to try to intimidate his adversaries and enemies throughout his career," said Elias.
In this election cycle, he said, the GOP is filing a deluge of lawsuits.
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"They are flooding the courts with litigation aimed at one thing and one thing only, making it harder to vote and making it easier for them in the post-election to contest elections," he revealed. "They are not going to get away with it. They are losing the lawsuits. Democrats are fighting back. We're all fighting back. They are not going to succeed."
The GOP is "weaponizing the courts" the way Trump did with government agencies during his presidency, said Elias.
One major difference, he noted, is that Trump's team has "upgraded their legal talent."
Elias' law firm is involved in 50 of the 81 election lawsuits. Instead of opposing Trump allies such as former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and former federal prosecutor Sidney Powell, "the lawyers are better" this go around.
"They have upgraded," he warned.
Elias said he knows many GOP lawyers who have been disgusted by Trump after the 2020 race, but they have "capitulated."
"The Republican legal establishment has capitulated in the same respect that we have seen the Republican Party's elected officials capitulate. They are getting more access to more and better lawyers," he warned again.
In the second part of the segment, Wallace confessed she loved Elias' optimism but remained concerned about the sanctity of the vote. Elias said that he is not only optimistic but realistic.
And he's not giving up the fight.
"My job is to worry about everything. I'm worried about everything. There's nothing I don't worry about when it comes to elections. I am optimistic, but I'm also realistic. I understand what it is Donald Trump is capable of," Elias promised.
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