Arkansas Attorney General, Leslie Rutledge, took courageous action this week by joining the state of Texas in their lawsuit against four other states. Texas filed its suit with the U. S. Supreme Court alleging the states violated the U. S. Constitution during the 2020 election. The states being sued by Texas are Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
There are only a few categories of cases over which the U. S. Supreme Court has “original jurisdiction.” “Controversies between one or more states” is one of those unique categories. In the Texas attempt to hold other states accountable, the U. S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 to hear the case.
The Texas suit alleges two violations of the U. S. Constitution, “First they violated the Electors Clause of Article II when executive or judicial officials in the States changed the rules of the election without going through the state legislatures. The Electors Clause requires that each State shall appoint its presidential electors in such manner as the Legislature thereof may direct.” ¹
The second alleged violation claims the defendant States changed the way they would receive, evaluate, and treat ballots. The suit alleges that voters have the Constitutional right to have their ballots treated the same throughout an individual state, county by county. The Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment provides this protection, as we saw in the 2000 election, upheld in Bush vs. Gore.
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge also joined an amicus brief that the state of Missouri filed with the U. S. Supreme Court.
To some it may be safer to sit this one out and let the other states fight for the integrity of our elections. Instead AG Rutledge has been quick to defend our federal election process, making Arkansas one of the first states to join Texas. This was a brave move, and Arkansas voters are appreciative for her willingness to fight for our election integrity and the ability to have free and fair elections. In a country with proven corruption, leaders acting in their own self-interest, and a few votes away from a socialist takeover, it is encouraging to see our Arkansas Attorney General fight to defend our Republic.
