The Republicans filed a record number of anti-voting lawsuits in 2022. The lawsuits are a sign that the GOP is shifting the battle over voting access and election administration to courtrooms in addition to state legislatures.
Republican Party groups filed 23 democracy-related lawsuits in 2022 alone. They included efforts to challenge election results, attacks on mail-in voting, and attempts to undermine the administration of elections.
Democracy Docket, a media platform that tracks voting litigation, published a new report covering and tracking activity in the courts pertaining to voting rights, elections, redistricting, and democracy.
As 2022 progressed, there was a steep jump in lawsuits filed by anti-voting advocates.
A total of 175 voting lawsuits were filed in 2022, according to the report, up from 150 in 2020. Of the 175 lawsuits, 93 were characterized as anti-voting, and the Republican party was responsible for nearly 25 percent of them.
In addition to the lawsuits filed by the party itself, 25 were filed by GOP candidates without the official backing of their party. Many of the Republican candidates were election deniers.
When the fight over voting rights shifted from legislative chambers to courtrooms, courts overwhelmingly protected the right to vote, particularly in advance of the midterm elections.
There were more anti-voting lawsuits than pro-voting ones filed in 2022. The Democratic party, the report found, filed only six voting suits in 2022 and all sought to protect or expand the right to vote.
Many of the anti-voting suits were based on “fringe” theories. The parties that filed them often promoted the ”big lie” or relied on conspiracy theories to challenge election results or limit voting opportunities.
“Evidently, the GOP establishment is becoming more litigious than ever and is turning to courts to achieve its anti-voting and anti-democracy ends,” the report says.
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