The 2020 US presidential election saw dozens of legal challenges by the losing candidate, Republican Donald Trump, summarily tossed out by the courts. This year's nail-biter of a White House race between the former president and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has seen a deluge of lawsuits from both parties even before Election Day. Democrats claim Republicans are setting the stage for Trump to contest the results if he loses and declare victory anyway -- as he did four years ago.
"Trump uses litigation to create a grievance structure that will allow him to claim he is a victim when he loses fair and square," Marc Elias, a top Democratic Party election lawyer, said on X. Republicans say they are bringing the suits in the name of "election integrity" with Trump alleging that the only way Harris can win on Tuesday is if Democrats "cheat." "I know, better than most, the rampant Cheating and Skullduggery that has taken place by the Democrats in the 2020 Presidential Election," he said in a Truth Social post.
The 78-year-old Trump has never conceded the election he lost to Joe Biden and a defeat this time could pave the way for the former president to be put on trial on federal and state charges of conspiring to overturn the 2020 results. The Republican National Committee (RNC), which is co-chaired by Trump's daughter-in-law Lara, has filed more than 130 cases, mostly focused on the seven swing states that could decide the election: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carol.
