Michigan judge blocks Republican effort to limit votes of children and spouses of Americans overseas

A federal judge in Michigan on Monday blocked a Republican-led effort to limit the votes of certain adult children and spouses of military servicemembers and other personnel who are stationed overseas.

The Republican National Committee and the Michigan Republican Party sued Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson earlier this month, questioning the constitutionality of allowing voters who were born to military service members or diplomatic staff stationed overseas to vote in the state if they never actually resided there.

Current law allows the adult children and spouses of state residents who are stationed overseas to vote in the election, as long as they are not registered to vote in any other state, per CBS News.

Judge Sima Patel ruled that the effort was an "11th hour attempt to disenfranchise" voters who were born overseas.

"The federal government requires states to permit absent uniformed services and overseas voters, as well as their spouses and dependents, to apply for and vote," Patel wrote in the ruling.

The lawsuit had asked Patel to force Benson's office to separate the oversea ballots in order to "ascertain the scope of the constitutional violation, and whether it [a]ffects the election's outcome." 

The ruling comes just two weeks before the general election. The case is one of several from Republican states that challenge the legality of Americans voting overseas.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.