The Facts
In what has become the most litigation-focused US election ever, over 100 midterm-related lawsuits have already been filed. The lawsuits — primarily from the GOP — cover issues including mail-in voting, early voting, voter access, voting machines, voting registration, mismarked absentee ballots, and access for partisan poll watchers.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) has filed 73 lawsuits itself, with a spokesperson saying it's a “multimillion-dollar investment into building an election integrity operations infrastructure that draws on its legal, political, data and communications resources.”
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Since losing the last election and pulling failed poll-watcher and legal stunts, the GOP has been open about their desire to be better prepared for the next election cycle. But in all political offices, the peaceful transfer of power can only work if the voters trust their voting system. These lawsuits from the GOP have only eroded that trust.
Republican narrative
To say Democrats haven't conducted corrupt or even illegal election schemes is blatantly false, and it's not only about federal elections. In states like New York and Vermont, lawsuits stopped some truly unethical actions. Lawsuits aren't signs of voter suppression, they're signs of democracy in action — just not the kind Democrats like.
Narrative C
Extensive studies have demonstrated that voter fraud in the US is extremely rare, and allegations that this occurred in the 2020 election — or will occur in the midterms — are baseless. While election integrity must absolutely be protected, chasing phantom voter fraud shouldn't be used as an excuse to undermine free and fair access to voting.