The Guardian is reporting that Trump-aligned legal foundations are already throwing out a bevy of lawsuits that critics say are intended to lay the groundwork for challenging the 2024 election results should former President Donald Trump come up short.
Many of the lawsuits center on baseless allegations of non-citizens voting in large numbers, such as one recently filed in Arizona by America First Legal, the legal organization founded by Trump adviser Stephen Miller, aimed at forcing counties to probe 44,000 voters who were registered without providing proof of citizenship.
Arizona state law mandates showing proof of citizenship for state elections but does not do so for federal elections, and former GOP operative Chuck Coughlin called the lawsuit a blatant effort to suppress Democratic voters in the election.
"The lawsuit is driven by falsehoods about non-citizen voting and is part and parcel of the Trump narrative to depress voter turnout through negative campaigning and suppress younger voter participation in the cycle," he told the Guardian.
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Leah Tullin, a senior counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University, similarly told the Guardian that while the lawsuit is likely to fail, its existence seems geared toward raising suspicions among Trump voters.
“Many of these suits seem like vehicles to spread conspiracy theories and misinformation,” she said. “In other words, they read more as press releases than serious legal claims.”
David Becker, who runs the nonpartisan non-profit Center for Election Innovation and Research, meanwhile, similarly told the Guardian that while the lawsuits are "very unlikely to get the relief they’re seeking, this could later fuel claims that the election was stolen."