Attorneys General from four states named in a wide-ranging lawsuit that seeks to overturn the results of the presidential election filed their responding briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday.
The lawsuit, which was filed directly with the U.S. Supreme Court by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, asked the court to prevent the states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan from sending their appointed electors to vote in the Electoral College. All four states were won by President-elect Joe Biden.
President Donald Trump, who has yet to concede the election to Biden, has baselessly alleged that widespread voter fraud contributed to results. Trump has also recently claimed that he was the true winner of the election, despite Biden's projected victory. In the responding briefs, the Attorneys General of the four named states appeared to agree that Paxton's lawsuit had no basis in fact.
"Not only is the complaint meritless here," wrote the office of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, "but its jurisdictional flaws abound and provide solid ground to dispose of this action."
"The election in Michigan is over," the brief added.
Legal counsel for the state of Georgia, including Attorney General Christopher Carr, wrote that the "novel and far-reaching claims that Texas asserts, and the breathtaking remedies it seeks, are impossible to ground in legal principles and unmanageable."
Wisconsin Attorney General Joshua Kaul said that, among other things, Texas waited too long to file the lawsuit. "If Texas had brought a timely challenge before the election—and succeeded—Wisconsin voters could have adjusted their understanding of applicable voting procedures and cast their ballots accordingly," the brief read.
"Instead," Kaul continued, "Texas waited until after the election and now seeks to pull the rug out from under voters who cannot recast their ballots. Rewarding this delay would obviously prejudice—indeed, disenfranchise—the millions of Wisconsin voters who cast their ballots in reliance on these long announced election practices."
"What Texas is doing in this proceeding is to ask this Court to reconsider a mass of baseless claims about problems with the election that have already been considered, and rejected, by this Court and other courts," read the response from Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
Shapiro also described Paxton's lawsuit as "legally indefensible" and "an affront to principles of constitutional democracy."
Paxton's filing alleges that the states in question changed their election processes due to the COVID-19 pandemic without the permission of state legislatures. Because the responsibility of choosing electors rests on the state legislators according to the U.S. Constitution, Paxton contends that the electors were appointed through an invalid process.
Paxton also claimed that the alleged election improprieties committed by the states named in the lawsuit would "irreparable harm" Texas "by denying representation in the presidency and in the Senate in the near term and by permanently sowing distrust in federal elections."
Trump petitioned the Supreme Court on Wednesday to become a part of the lawsuit. More than 100 GOP lawmakers have signed an amicus brief in support of Paxton's litigation. Some states have offered their support for the lawsuit with 6 Republican states calling to become a part of the case.
The U.S. Supreme Court has not yet announced when, or if, it would conduct a hearing on the Texas lawsuit. Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign for comment.
