President Trump filed a petition Wednesday night asking the Supreme Court to declare the state of Wisconsin’s election “unconstitutional” in a last-ditch bid to void results before Congress meets on Jan. 6 to certify the Electoral College’s vote.
Representatives for Trump said the lawsuit, filed in his personal capacity as a candidate for office, was a bid to “ensure election integrity” following the campaign’s unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in the state. Trump petitioned the Supreme Court days after an appeals court affirmed a lower court ruling that the president’s claims of fraud were filed too late and were without merit.
TRUMP CAMPAIGN ASKS SUPREME COURT TO REVIEW WISCONSIN VOTER FRAUD CASE
“President Trump continues to fight for the American people and election integrity. We have to restore integrity to our process through every legal and constitutionally viable mechanism,” Trump attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis said in a statement. “America has seen the extent of corruption in this election and is demanding swift resolution. We hope that state legislatures in Wisconsin and the five other states will not wait on a court order but exercise their plenary constitutional authority and we continue to appeal to them as well as seek judicial remedy.”
Trump’s attorneys filed a motion asking the Supreme Court to consider his case in an expedited manner. The motion cited Congress’ review of Electoral College results on Jan. 6 as well as President-elect Joe Biden’s scheduled inauguration on Jan. 20.
The petition also called for decertification of Wisconsin electors that cast votes for Biden, clearing the way for the state legislature to appoint new electors.
Trump’s latest legal maneuver came one day after his campaign asked the Supreme Court to review a recent ruling by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The state’s high court voted 4-3 to dismiss a Trump campaign lawsuit that sought to invalidate more than 221,000 ballots in Milwaukee and Dane counties, both Democratic strongholds.
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The Trump campaign focused its challenge on the use of absentee ballots, which the president and his supporters have long claimed were susceptible to fraud. The Wisconsin Supreme Court determined that three of Trump’s four claims of voter fraud were filed too late in the election process to be considered. The fourth claim was determined to be meritless.
The Electoral College voted to certify Biden as president-elect on Dec. 14. Trump has yet to concede defeat in the election.