With just over two weeks left until the safe-harbor deadline on Dec. 8, plaintiffs in 2020 election cases are racing against time.
The legal pathways narrow significantly after the safe-harbor marker, toward altering the election outcome.
An Arizona judge dismissed a legal challenge by Republicans last week. State law does not allow recounts there by individual parties and the margin did not qualify Trump’s team for an automatic recount. The state’s deadline for certifying results is Nov. 30.
There are no election lawsuits pending in Wisconsin, but recounts are ongoing in two counties.
A recount is also pending in Georgia.
Key swing states Pennsylvania, Michigan, Georgia, Wisconsin, Arizona, and Nevada will likely decide the election.
Democrat Joe Biden is the projected winner in all six states.
There are enough votes at stake in the lawsuits in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Georgia to alter the projected outcome.
If the president wins all three, he would gain 52 more electoral college votes and be determined the overall winner. But Trump’s team has substantial legal hurdles to clear to defy the projections.
In the Keystone State, Trump’s hopes lie on nine active lawsuits. That’s more than in all the other states combined. One case, dismissed by the judge on Saturday, is under appeal.
In the Wolverine State, there are two pending lawsuits, between the Trump campaign and a right-wing group.
Michigan certified its election result on Monday, declaring Biden the winner. There is another suit expected to be revived in the state, and a third-party suit on appeal before the Michigan Supreme Court.
In the Peach State, a single lawsuit remains. It features claims from poll observers who witnessed the state’s hand-recount.
Republican attorneys have also hinted the campaign is ready to file a major lawsuit in Georgia with allegations not yet raised in any of its other litigation.
There are also four more active cases in front of the state court in the Silver State of Nevada.
