Judicial Watch Battles for Election Integrity

Democracy by its nature is a messy business and the fight for clean and honest elections never ends. Judicial Watch has risen to the vanguard of voting integrity and voter rights reform with legal actions that include ending discriminatory elections in Hawaii, stopping extreme partisan gerrymandering in Maryland, and cleaning four million and counting dirty names from voter rolls around the country. And there’s more to come.

In recent weeks, Judicial Watch notched three significant election integrity wins. In Mississippi, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit sided with Judicial Watch, declining to revisit an earlier ruling that it was unlawful for the state to count ballots arriving after Election Day. In California, Judicial Watch filed a federal lawsuit to prevent state officials from extending Election Day for seven additional days. And in Maryland, following a separate Judicial Watch court victory opening voter rolls to public scrutiny, a federal judge struck down a state board of elections regulation criminalizing the use of voter registration lists for election integrity investigations.

This week, as well, President Trump signaled his support for election integrity action with a sweeping executive order that reinforces “a uniform Election Day across the nation,” requires “documentary proof of United States citizenship” to vote, and directs the attorney general to increase efforts to ensure state compliance with the National Voter Registration Act.

In the Mississippi case siding with Judicial Watch, the full Fifth Circuit court let stand an appellate panel ruling that ballots arriving after Election Day cannot be counted. The appellate panel had ruled that “Congress statutorily designated a singular ‘day for the election’ of members of Congress and the appointment of presidential electors. Text, precedent, and historical practice confirm that this ‘day for the election’ is the day by which ballots must be both cast by voters and received by state officials.”

Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton hailed the full Fifth Circuit action as “a historic victory for honest elections,” noting that federal law “sets ‘Election Day’ not ‘Election Week.’”

Judicial Watch’s new lawsuit against California counting ballots up to seven days after Election Day “has even more urgency and strength,” Tom noted.

In the California case, Judicial Watch filed a lawsuit on behalf of U.S. Representative Darrell Issa to prevent state election officials from extending Election Day for seven days beyond the date established by federal law. “Despite Congress’ unambiguous and longstanding statement regarding a single and uniform national Election Day,” the JW brief said, “California modified and extended Election Day by allowing seven additional days after Election Day for receipt of vote-by-mail ballots.”

The lawsuit notes that late-arriving ballots can “change electoral outcomes in California.” Two of Issa’s Republican colleagues were leading on Election Night 2024 “but ultimately lost reelection due to late-arriving [vote-by-mail] ballots.”

Issa called on the state to fix its “broken systems of elections.” In California, he told Breitbart, “Election Day has become Election Month and ballots are counted until Democrats are declared the winner.”

In the Maryland case, the National Voter Registration Act—a key weapon in Judicial Watch’s legal arsenal of electoral reform—was under attack. The NVRA directs the states to make “a reasonable effort” to remove from voting rolls the names of ineligible voters disqualified from voting due to death or change of residence. Dirty voter rolls—rolls that carry many ineligible voters—create opportunities for election fraud.

Judicial Watch fought hard and ultimately won a legal battle to make Maryland voter rolls more transparent. But the Maryland State Board of Elections fought back, issuing a regulation that sought to criminalize the use of voter registration lists for investigations into NVRA violations. Judicial Watch filed a friend of the court brief in the case noting its extensive role in the Maryland NVRA litigation.

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Maryland struck down the Board of Elections regulation. The court concluded that, “as a matter of law,” the regulation “presents an obstacle to accomplishing and executing the purposes and objectives of the NVRA.”

The Maryland case is a win for transparency and accountability, a win that may echo across other states. “This new federal court ruling affirming transparency requirements for voter registration lists is an important victory for Maryland voters and election integrity,” Tom Fitton said. “It was truly outrageous that Maryland election officials tried to criminalize voters asking questions about election integrity.”

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Micah Morrison is chief investigative reporter for Judicial Watch. Tips: mmorrison@judicialwatch.org

Investigative Bulletin is published by Judicial Watch. Reprints and media inquiries: jfarrell@judicialwatch.org

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