A federal judge in North Carolina has ruled against Republicans in a dispute over absentee ballot rules.
U.S. District Judge Richard Myers ended the efforts of Republicans to move the case back to state court - where Republicans sued last month to stop a policy allowing absentee ballots to be counted without the lawfully required container-sealed envelopes.
The ruling is a procedural win for Democrats and Hillary Clinton operative Marc Elias, who pushed the judge to keep the case in federal court.
The board had issued guidance that allows county clerks to count ballots with just one envelope, even though state law requires absentee ballots to have a sealed, two-envelope package.
The Republican National Committee, the North Carolina Republican Party, and a voter sued the board of elections in state court. The board moved the case to federal court, sparking a battle over jurisdiction.
Republicans had argued the case belongs in state court, and the board "improperly" moved it.
“Plaintiffs alleged only state-law claims,” GOP lawyers added. “They never intended for their Complaint to be reviewed under a federal pleading standard. Nor did they ever intend to argue that any federal court had jurisdiction over this action, because no such jurisdiction exists.”
“It was Defendants who improperly removed this case to this Court, even though the Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over this litigation."
The board, joined by the Elias Law Firm and the North Carolina Alliance for Retired American, argued the case belongs in federal court because the GOP's demands would violate the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Judge Myers agreed that the board "properly removed" the case to federal court.
“[T]he court finds that the organizational Plaintiffs have made a ‘threshold showing’ of standing,” Myers wrote.
Unfortunately for Republicans, the case will not be decided by Election Day.
Despite this setback, Republicans are optimistic about winning the Tar Heel State. The GOP is ahead in early voting in North Carolina, a sign that the party's embrace of voting early has paid off.
"Certainly here in North Carolina, we're seeing record turnout for Republicans," Rep. Richard Hudson, who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), told Fox News Digital. "And that's good. That allows us to target lower propensity voters with our turnout efforts as we get closer to Election Day and on Election Day. And so I think it's going to be a difference maker."
The last day to vote early in North Carolina is Saturday.
