Courts in Michigan and North Carolina on Monday rejected attempts by Republicans to disqualify the ballots of certain overseas voters.
Both cases targeted people who have never lived in the state but were born overseas to parents who were residents of the state. The Michigan case also targeted the spouses of military and overseas voters.
A state judge in Michigan dismissed the Republicans' case because it was filed so late — less than a month before the Nov. 5 presidential election. But the judge also found that the election language allowing those voters to cast ballots complied with both state and federal law, as well as the Michigan Constitution.
The state GOPs and the Republican National Committee were among the plaintiffs bringing both cases, which were filed as part of a broader legal strategy against overseas ballots in presidential battleground states ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
The RNC did not immediately return requests for comment.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson criticized the lawsuit in her state as frivolous and described Monday's ruling as a win for election integrity.
“This baseless lawsuit targeted the voting rights of U.S. citizens and their families living abroad, including the children of active-duty military service members,” she said in a statement. “It represents a new low in the ongoing PR campaign to cast doubt on the security of Michigan’s elections.”
In North Carolina, a judge hearing a case in Wake County Superior Court denied a preliminary injunction the Republicans were seeking against the state Board of Elections.
The decision will allow people who have never lived in the state, but were born overseas to parents or guardians who were North Carolina residents, to vote as usual in the November presidential election.
Republicans argued that North Carolina is allowing these “Never Residents” to vote under a 2011 state law that disregards the state constitution's requirement that voters be residents of the state. They contend those ballots could be part of an elaborate scheme to steal the election, a claim for which there is no evidence.
In the decision issued Monday, the judge said there is “absolutely no evidence” of any such fraud occurring in North Carolina and the Republicans had been unable to identify even a single case related to the group of voters they targeted.
The Democratic National Committee intervened in the North Carolina case and told the court that many of the affected voters are the children of U.S. military personnel stationed overseas. It argued that the 11th hour legal filing regarding a law passed more than 13 years ago aimed to sow distrust in advance in this year's election.
In Michigan, the judge noted that the language targeted by the Republicans' lawsuit had been in place since 2017.
“A challenge could have been raised at any time after 2017, and should have at least been brought earlier in the year leading up to the general election, not 28 days before,” Michigan Court of Claims Judge Sima G. Patel said in the ruling issued Monday.
FILE - Dawn Stephens, right, and Duane Taylor prepare ballots to be mailed at the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections in Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond, File)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The United States “will get Ukraine what it needs” to fight its war with Russia, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said on an unannounced visit to Kyiv on Monday, but he gave no hint that Washington might endorse key planks of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's so-called “victory plan.”
The United States will provide Ukraine with what it requires "to fight for its survival and security,” Austin said in a speech at the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine. He noted that the U.S. has delivered more than $58 billion in security assistance for Ukraine since Russia's February 2022 full-scale invasion, making it Kyiv's main backer.
That includes a new $400 million package of military aid that the Biden administration announced Monday, including munitions for rocket systems and artillery, mortar systems and rounds, armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons. It comes just days after the U.S. said it was sending $425 million in military assistance to Ukraine.
But Zelenskyy has asked Ukraine's Western allies to go a few steps further, notably inviting Ukraine to join NATO and letting it use Western-supplied longer-range missiles to strike military targets deep inside Russian territory. Those steps have met with a lukewarm response.
Ukraine is having difficulty holding back a ferocious Russian campaign along the eastern front that is gradually compelling Kyiv’s forces to give up a series of towns, villages and hamlets. It faces a hard winter after Russia targeted its power grid.
Austin's remarks were notable for what they did not include — an endorsement of Ukraine being invited into NATO, or any indication the U.S. will support Ukraine becoming more aggressive in its defense with longer-range attacks on Russian soil.
With the U.S. presidential election about two weeks away, U.S. officials are treading carefully. President Joe Biden has balked at measures that might escalate the war and bring a confrontation between NATO and Russia.
Austin said "there is no silver bullet. No single capability will turn the tide. No one system will end Putin’s assault.”
He added: “Make no mistake. The United States does not seek war with Russia.”
“What matters is the way that Ukraine fights back," Austin told the assembled diplomatic and military personnel at the academy. "What matters is the combined effects of your military capabilities. And what matters is staying focused on what works.”
Zelenskyy said in a Sunday evening video address that his ‘victory plan’ had won the backing of France, Lithuania, Nordic countries and “many other allies” in the European Union, which he didn’t name.
Zelenskyy said he had received “very positive signals from the United States,” but he stopped short of saying he had secured Washington’s blessing for the plan.
Analysts say the U.S. is unlikely to make a decision before the Nov. 5. presidential election.
The latest Russian strikes on Ukraine, targeting Kyiv, Odesa and Zaporizhzhia, rammed home the urgency for Kyiv officials of clinching guarantees of more support, particularly large amounts of ammunition for the war of attrition the sides are engaged in.
A Russian missile attack on the southern city of Zaporizhzhia killed two people and injured 15 in the city center and caused huge damage to civilian infrastructure, including a kindergarten and more than 30 residential buildings, regional Gov. Ivan Fedorov said.
Russia conducted a ballistic missile strike at Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy’s hometown, injuring five people, city administration head Oleksandr Vilkul wrote on social media.
According to Vilkul, Russia has conducted ballistic missile attacks on Kryvyi Rih for three consecutive days, injuring the total of 21 people and damaging dozens of residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.
Machine gunfire and the noise of drones’ engines was also heard in Kyiv’s center throughout the night. Authorities reported minor damages to civilian infrastructure caused by falling drone debris in three districts.
Russia fired three missiles and more than 100 drones at Ukraine overnight from Sunday to Monday, Ukraine's air force said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara on Monday to discuss cooperation between their countries.
According to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, the meeting focused on strengthening strategic relations, defense cooperation and addressing global food security through Black Sea grain shipments from Ukraine that pass through Turkey’′ Bosphorus Strait.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sought to steer a balanced line in his NATO-member country’s close relations with both Ukraine and Russia. He has previously offered to host a peace summit between the two countries.
Associated Press writer Tara Copp in Washington contributed.
Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
In this photo provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on October 21, 2024, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, centre right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, centre left, attend their meeing in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine via AP)
In this photo provided by the Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine on Oct. 21, 2024, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, right, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Press Service Of The President Of Ukraine via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Oct. 21, 2024, a rescue worker extinguishes a fire at a house destroyed by a Russian strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service on Oct. 21, 2024, rescue workers clear the rubble of a house destroyed by a Russian strike in Kharkiv, Ukraine. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency workers clear the rubble after Russia attacked the city with guided bombs overnight in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency workers clear the rubble after an overnight Russian attack with guided bombs in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency workers clear the rubble after Russia attacked the city with guided bombs overnight in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)
In this photo released by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, a Russian self-propelled mortar Nona-SVK fires towards Ukrainian positions at an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)
