United States – On Monday, a judge in Michigan dismissed an attempt by the Republican Party to prevent some Americans residing outside the United States from voting in the state.
The Republican National Committee filed a suit this month claiming that election laws in the state were unconstitutional because they allowed some U.S. citizens living in other countries who had never resided in Michigan to vote there if some of their other relatives had lived there, as reported by Reuters.
Legal Ruling Supports Existing Laws
Michigan Court of Claims Judge Sima Patel stated in a decision that the language being disparaged by Republicans was perfectly legal under federal and state law.
“There is no ground to invalidate it,” Patel wrote.
A Michigan resident who has never been a resident of the United States but has a parent, legal guardian, or spouse who last resided in Michigan is qualified to vote in the state elections so long as the Michigan citizen has not registered or voted in another state, according to the Michigan secretary of state election officials manual.
RNC Chairman Calls for Action
Has it been filed, RNC Chairman Michael Whatley urged citizens of that state not to have ‘their votes canceled by those who have never resided in Michigan.’
Overseas Voter Statistics
Approximately 2.9 million US citizens living internationally were registered to vote in the 2020 elections, and less than 8% of those individuals voted, as reported by the Federal Voting Assistance Program, an agency of the US government designed to support overseas voters and active military personnel in voting processes, as reported by Reuters.