Government/Politics

State GOP Chair Floats Secession After Supreme Court Denies Texas’ Challenge Of Election Results

KUT 90.5 | By Matt Largey

Published December 14, 2020 at 11:33 AM CST

Texas GOP Chairman Allen West suggested states should secede from the U.S., following the Supreme Court’s denial of Texas’ bid to nullify results of the presidential election in four states.

“This decision establishes a precedent that says states can violate the US constitution and not be held accountable. This decision will have far reaching ramifications for the future of our constitutional republic,” West said in a statement released Friday night. “Perhaps law-abiding states should bond together and form a Union of states that will abide by the constitution.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the complaint Monday challenging results in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Georgia. He argued those states – which all went for President-elect Joe Biden – had broken their own election laws by changing voting procedures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Utah joined the lawsuit.

The Supreme Court on Friday threw out the case, saying Texas lacked “judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections.“

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had also changed voting procedures because of the pandemic, including extending the early-voting period and expanding hand-delivery of mail-in ballots.

West was among the Texas Republicans who sued Abbott over his expansion of early voting. The Texas Supreme Court rejected that lawsuit.

Paxton said expressed disappointment with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Friday.

“It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court decided not to take this case and determine the constitutionality of these four states’ failure to follow federal and state election law,” he said in an emailed statement.

Got a tip? Email Matt Largey at mlargey@kut.org. Follow him on Twitter @mattlargey.

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