US Supreme Court rejects Texas suit over election results

The US Supreme Court on Friday rejected a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas and backed by outgoing President Donald Trump, seeking to throw out election results of Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

In a brief order, the top court said Texas "has not demonstrated a judicially cognizable interest in the manner in which another State conducts its elections."

"The Supreme Court has decisively and speedily rejected the latest of Donald Trump and his allies’ attacks on the democratic process," said Michael Gwin, a spokesperson for Joe Biden, adding that it was "no surprise."

There was no immediate response from the White House. 

The Texas lawsuit argued that changes made by the four states to voting procedures amid the coronavirus pandemic to expand mail-in voting were unlawful. Legal experts had told agencies the claim by Texas was already a long shot.

Trump and many of his followers had made claims that large numbers of mail-in voting led to a fraudulent victory for Biden. 

The case was filed on Tuesday with the attorney general of Texas. Trump had filed a motion to intervene and become a plaintiff on the following day.

The four states had asked the Supreme Court justices to reject the lawsuit, which they said had no factual or legal grounds.

None of the judges commented on the order. The Supreme Court has a 6-3 conservative majority. 

Trump's legal claims rejected

The Trump campaign and his allies have already lost lawsuits in several state and federal courts challenging the outcome of the November 3 election. Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed that the elections were rigged, and is yet to concede. 

Trump now appears to have no more legal avenues to challenge the election result. The US Electoral College is set to meet on Monday to officially cast their vote for Biden. The swearing-in ceremony is scheduled to take place on January 20, 2021.

tg/aw (dpa, AP, Reuters)