18 States and Counting in SCOTUS Election Case

A number of states have joined an Amicus Brief (Friends of the Court) supporting the state of Texas in its lawsuit against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Missouri has taken the lead, and an additional 16 states have decided to sign on to Missouri's filing. Arizona has also made its own separate Amicus filing.

Amici Curiae joining Missouri are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia.

The purpose of becoming Amici Curiae is to "inform and advise the judge as to matters of fact or law that might otherwise escape consideration so as to minimize the risk of error in judgment."

What this means in practice is that the states may be able to offer arguments or information that may otherwise not come to the judges' attention. But on a wider scale, politically, it demonstrates that a broad coalition of support for the president's claims of election fraud exists.

The brief states that:

"Amici have several important interests in this case. First, the States have a strong interest in safeguarding the separation of powers among state actors in the regulation of Presidential elections. The Electors Clause of Article II, § 1 carefully separates power among state actors, and it assigns a specific function to the "Legislature thereof" in each State. U.S. CONST. art. II, § 1, cl. 4. Our system of federalism relies on separation of powers to preserve liberty at every level of government, and the separation of powers in the Electors Clause is no exception. The States have a strong interest in preserving the proper roles of state legislatures in the administration of federal elections, and thus safeguarding the individual liberty of their citizens."

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt released a statement explaining the suit. He wrote, "The integrity of our elections is of critical importance to maintaining our republic, both today and in future elections … The stakes of protecting our Constitution, defending our liberty and ensuring that all votes are counted fairly couldn't be higher. With this brief, we are joining the fight."

The four defendant states being sued have until 3 p.m. today (Thursday, December 10) to reply to the Court.

Liberty Nation will keep you updated on the official response.