The U.S. Supreme Court returned to work for its fall session on Monday – and the nine justices could be in for a very busy few months.
Adav Noti is executive director of the Campaign Legal Center, and before that, he served for over 10 years in the general counsel's office of the Federal Election Commission. He joined KNX News’ daily political show Countdown 2024 to discuss what could be the most litigated presidential election in American history.
Listen here:
“For better or for worse, we’re in an era where there is going to be litigation around elections,” he said. “I think the question is more about sort of the content of the litigation – is it legitimate, is it intended to make sure that the election is free and fair and secure, or is it frivolous or otherwise intended to disrupt the election?”
He said that some of the litigation underway right now is “an effort to create doubt or uncertainty where it might not otherwise exist,” or as attempts to lay the groundwork for legal action after the election if it doesn’t go their way.
Lawyers in the Trump camp, Noti said, are also using frivolous suits to try to lay the groundwork for legal action after the election if it doesn’t go their way. As an example, he pointed to several GOP-backed lawsuits seeking to remove registered voters from state voter rolls.
“First of all, there's not really a cause of action to require states to throw voters off the rolls,” Noti said. “But even if there were, there is an explicit federal law that prohibits that sort of voter roll purging within the couple of months before an election. So filing those suits this close to the election is genuinely frivolous because under federal law, the state couldn't do what these suits are seeking.”
He also pointed to recent rule changes in Georgia that could disrupt results certification.
“What they're intended to do is sort of lay the groundwork for election officials at the local level or the county level to say, ‘Gosh, I don't know what's happening with the election. I have some vague sense of mistrust, so I'm not going to do my job and certify my own election results,’” he said.
Will this election be decided by the Supreme Court like Bush v. Gore? Noti said it’s possible, and even more likely than in previous elections due to legal changes after 2020 that reduced the role of state legislatures and governors in the electoral process.
“So all of those other actors are kind of out of the picture for the most part when it comes to figuring out any post-election disputes, and where those disputes are going to go – and where they probably should go – is the courts,” he said. “Now, that doesn't mean the Supreme Court necessarily, because they'll probably start in state court, not federal court, and hopefully the state courts will be able to resolve disputes, which they have a very good track record of doing. But it does increase the chances that ultimately if there's a genuine, non-frivolous dispute, it could end up with the Supreme Court.”
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
Listen to the full episode above to hear an interview with James Zogby, founder and president of the Arab American Institute, and catch new episodes of Countdown 2024 live at 2:30 p.m. every weekday through Election Day.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok
