4th Circuit Rejects Right-Wing Challenge to Maryland Election Administration
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals today upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit challenging the Maryland State Board of Elections’ (MDSBE) administration of voter rolls and voting machines.
Radical right-wing groups Maryland Election Integrity and United Sovereign Americans first brought the suit in March. In their complaint, they accused the MDSBE of maintaining inaccurate voter rolls, using voting machines with higher than allowable error rates and unreviewed software code, and failing to provide requested records. The plaintiffs asked the court to halt the administration and certification of elections until all voters are “provably a U.S. citizen,” the tabulation of votes is “provably secure” and the entire election process is “fully auditable.”
The state moved to dismiss the lawsuit for lacking standing and failing to show how the plaintiffs were harmed. The court agreed, writing that the plaintiffs alleged only “generalized grievances.”
On May 15, 2024, the plaintiffs appealed the decision to the 4th Circuit. In their opinion today the three-judge panel wrote that because the plaintiffs failed to show any concrete way they were harmed or would be harmed in the future by current processes, the judges upheld the lower court’s decision. Voter roll maintenance and election administration processes in Maryland will remain unchanged.
https://www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/right-wing-groups-appeal-maryland-election-administration-decision-to-4th-circuit/