NC judge rejects RNC lawsuit that would disqualify ballots of certain overseas voters

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- A North Carolina judge rejected an election integrity lawsuit Monday.

The Republican National Committee and others sued the State Board of Elections for allegedly allowing overseas citizens, who never lived in North Carolina, illegally vote.

Republicans argued that NC allowed these "Never Residents" to vote under a 2011 state law that disregards the state's constitution's requirement that voters be state residents. They said those ballots could be part of an elaborate scheme to steal the election.

In a decision issued Monday, the judge said there is "absolutely no evidence" of any such fraud in North Carolina, and Republicans presented no substantial evidence of the fraud they claimed they were trying to prevent.

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A similar lawsuit in Michigan was also dismissed on Monday.

The decision will allow people who have never lived in the state but were born overseas to parents or guardians who were NC residents, to vote as usual in the November presidential election.

The Democratic National Committee intervened in the North Carolina case and told the court that many of the affected voters were the children of U.S. military personnel stationed overseas. It argued that the last-minute legal filing regarding a law passed more than 13 years ago aimed to sow distrust ahead of this year's election.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.