(Editor's Note: The following opinion column does not constitute an endorsement of any political party, or candidate, on the part of Newsmax.)
With Election Day less than a week away, two court decisions helped keep the voting process fair.
The first, was a U.S. Supreme Court decision governing Virginia elections, the second was a local decision correcting a wrong made in Bucks County, Pa.
Both Virginia and Pennsylvania are swing states that may ultimately determine who the next president will be.
Virginia:
Using a bipartisan-approved statute that was signed into law in 2006 by a Democratic governor, Virginia election officials removed approximately 1,600 names from its voter rolls. These were people who self-identified as non-citizens on their driver’s licenses.
Following this announcement, the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an objection with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. Last week Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles, a Biden appointee, ordered the former voters to be reinstated.
The Commonwealth of Virginia appealed that decision to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which declined to step in.
So Virginia asked the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case on an emergency basis.
On Wednesday Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced that the high court temporarily blocked Giles’ order in a 6-3 decision.
"BREAKING," he began: "I am pleased to announce that the U.S. Supreme Court granted Virginia’s emergency stay to keep noncitizens off our voter rolls," which received the approval of Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton.
"It is not only a federal crime for noncitizens to vote but for them to even register to vote in the first place," said Paxton in a written statement.
"The Biden-Harris administration’s legal meddling was irresponsible, reckless, and political. States have a constitutional duty to prevent noncitizens from voting. The Supreme Court did the right thing."
Proof of citizenship to vote is an issue that’s also heating up in Ohio.
Last week the American Civil Liberties Union sued Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose for requiring voters to show proof of citizenship if it’s challenged at a polling location.
And Ohio State Sen. Niraj Antani introduced a bill Wednesday that would require proof of citizenship to either register to vote, or update one’s voter registration.
At the federal level, the House passed a bill over the summer that would require proof of citizenship in order to register to vote, but since then it’s been collecting dust in the Democratic-majority Senate.
Federal law prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, but for some reason Democrats believe requiring proof of citizenship is wrong.
Pennsylvania:
Although the Keystone State technically doesn’t have early voting, it does have a procedure known as on-demand mail-in voting.
A voter can go to their county election office and request a ballot.
From there he can fill it out at home and either mail it in or drop it off at a ballot collection box. Or, in what’s become more popular, a voter can fill it out at the county election office, place it in the envelopes provided, and hand it to the clerk.
Tuesday was the last day to request an early ballot, but Bucks County voters in line were turned away well before the 5:00 pm cutoff time.
The Republican National Committee and the Trump campaign responded by filing a lawsuit in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.
RNC Chairman Michael Whatley announced Wednesday afternoon, "We just won the Trump Campaign/RNC lawsuit against Bucks County, Pa."
As a result, "We will now have extended early in-person mail-voting through November 1st — three extra days."
Whatley concluded, "We will keep fighting. Go vote! Stay in line!"
But why Bucks County? Talk show host Addison Smith had an idea.
"Is it a coincidence that @ScottPresler flipped Bucks County red and now they’re shutting out voters?" he asked.
GOP activist Scott Presler has been working tirelessly for years to flip the Keystone State to the Republican Party, and one major goal to that end was to flip deep blue Bucks County.
"It’s done — this major Philadelphia suburban county, which voted for Hillary & Biden, is now red," Presler posted to Twitter/X.
"This is huge, monumental, monstrous, & earth-shattering news. We did it!"
In recent months former President Trump and his supporters have been called fascists, Nazis, Hitler, and garbage, but it turns out that this is mere projection on their part.
Democrats are the fascists, the Nazis, the Hitler, and the garbage. They’ll lie, cheat, and throw their grandmothers to the wolves to win, that’s why we can’t let them win. But we can’t stoop to their level to do it.
And the courts are now recognizing that.
Four more days.
Just four more days.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and a Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.