True the Vote Seeks to Elevate Montana Vote by Mail Lawsuit to Supreme Court, Establish Nationwide Legal Standard for Upholding Constitutional Elections

Nearly 350 Currently Pending Election-related Lawsuits Could Overwhelm the Courts if SCOTUS Doesn’t Immediately Act

HOUSTON, Texas – True the Vote this week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to consider its lawsuit filed on September 9, 2020 against Montana Governor Steve Bullock and order that mail ballots not be sent out on October 9 as currently planned. Plaintiffs in the lawsuit – comprised of Montana voters – cite that Montana already has no-excuse absentee ballots and that the Governor does not have the legal authority to overrule election law established by the state legislature.

"The progressive Left is spearheading a nationwide effort to overturn state election laws that prevent fraud and abuse and to manipulate election procedures that they think favor their election," said Catherine Engelbrecht, founder and president of True the Vote. "True the Vote and our allies are on the front lines to fight for election integrity and preserve state election laws. We urge the Supreme Court to quickly act in this matter, not only to solve the problem, but also to prevent the overwhelming of our courts after Election Day, when the nearly 350 election-related lawsuits that are currently pending could stand to throw the result of our election into complete chaos. This is about protecting the voting rights of Montanans and all Americans and ensuring every legal vote cast is counted."

Nearly 350 election-related lawsuits have already been filed across the country, with many more expected to come by the Democrat Party and their allies who claim that COVID-19 justifies setting aside numerous anti-fraud provisions of state election laws. This litigation flood is likely to overwhelm the courts and the Supreme Court if the Supreme Court doesn’t clearly and immediately reaffirm that only legislatures – not state officials or the courts – have the constitutional authority to adopt election laws by balancing election access with election integrity concerns, such as ballot fraud and a sudden deluge of mail ballots. Voters in the lawsuit are requesting the Court to explain that long-standing state election laws should not be overturned by state officials or state courts on the eve of an election, as Governor Bullock’s directive does.

Montana already has no-excuse "absentee ballots," which any qualified voter can obtain by a simple application. Additionally, in-person voting has already began for early voting in compliance with the safeguards in the Montana Governor’s own COVID-19 Phase 2 reopening order. Thus, there was no COVID-19 emergency to justify the Governor invoking of any emergency powers to suspend Montana state election law and to authorize mail balloting. The Governor also happens to be a candidate for U.S. Senate in the November election.

"Mail ballots," which are sent to all registered voters automatically without application, pose a heightened risk of ballot fraud and lost, tardy or disqualified ballots due to the sudden flood of paper. While Montana election law allows mail ballots in some local elections, it expressly bans them for federal, general elections as is happening on November 3.

Click here for more information on the lawsuit.

Click here for the application to the U.S. Supreme Court.

"Montana already had no-excuse ‘absentee ballots,’ and in-person voting is already being conducted safely under the Governor’s own reopening guidelines," said James Bopp, Jr., of The Bopp Law Firm, PC, lead counsel for the voters and General Counsel for True the Vote, said. "So there was no COVID-19 problem with voting, no need to flood the state with unsolicited 'mail ballots,’ and no emergency to trigger the Governor’s emergency powers to set aside state laws."

"Under the U.S. Constitution, the Legislature, not a Governor, has the authority to prescribe how an election is to be conducted, and the Montana Legislature banned unsolicited mail ballots in general elections, which the Governor has set aside.," Bopp continued. "The directive opens Montana up to election fraud and the chaos of mail-in voting evidenced already across the country."

"The U.S. Supreme Court needs to immediately step in to reaffirm the constitutional mandate that only long-standing, legislatively enacted laws govern elections," Bopp concluded. "Otherwise, we will continue to suffer this chaotic flood of litigation which will deprive voters of their right to vote by diluting their votes or by them not being count at all."

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True the Vote (TTV) is an IRS-designated 501(c)3 voters' rights organization, founded to inspire and equip volunteers for involvement at every stage of our electoral process. TTV empowers organizations and individuals across the nation to actively protect the rights of legitimate voters, regardless of their political party affiliation. For more information, please visit www.truethevote.org.