RNC's overseas ballot challenge in North Carolina rejected by appeals court

A North Carolina appeals court on Tuesday rebuffed the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) request to not process certain overseas ballots in the upcoming election unless the voter shows they were previously a resident of the key battleground state.

Republicans have filed challenges to overseas ballots in several key swing states as the voting bloc is no longer seen as reliably red, but the lawsuits have so far been rejected.

A three-judge panel of the North Carolina Court of Appeals on Tuesday unanimously rejected the RNC’s appeal after a trial judge refused the party’s request for an intervention ahead of the upcoming presidential election.

Federal law mandates certain protections so that servicemembers stationed abroad and U.S. citizens living overseas can participate in elections.

North Carolina’s rules enable citizens who have never lived in the United States to vote in the state, as long as they haven’t registered elsewhere and their parent or legal guardian was previously an eligible North Carolina voter.

The RNC, its state arm and two Republican voters sued, arguing the extension goes beyond the voting bloc protected by federal law, and that North Carolina’s state constitution prohibits any other non-resident from voting there.

“The result of Defendants’ application of the statutes is akin to forum-shopping for voter registration. If a Never Resident identifies a statewide contest in North Carolina contest as close, Defendants allow them to vote in it, no questions asked,” the RNC wrote in its petition to the appeals court.

The Hill has reached out to the RNC for comment.

In a statement, Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson Charles Lutvak and Democratic National Committee Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd celebrated the ruling.

“Donald Trump called fallen members of our military ‘suckers’ and ‘losers,’ so it’s no surprise that he doesn’t think our brave men and women in uniform or the families who support them should be able to vote,” they said. “Democrats believe that those serving abroad to defend our democracy should be able to participate in it at home, and this ruling protects that fundamental right.”