US service members abroad caught in the middle of overseas ballot battle raging between House Dems, GOP

Republican plaintiffs argued that current law makes it possible for these residents to register and vote in elections without proper identification. They can then "receive a ballot by email and then vote a ballot without providing identification at any step in the process," the group alleged.

But that contention has been met with fierce resistance by the half-dozen Democrats in Congress, who argued that the level of vetting sought by Republicans would disenfranchise "tens of thousands" of overseas voters in their states - including, importantly, U.S. service men and women stationed abroad.

The letter, sent by Reps. Pat Ryan of New York, Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, Chrissy Houlahan and Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania, and Mike Thompson and Salud Carbajal of California, and shared with Fox News, argued that the GOP-led push is an unfounded attempt to discount the votes of a once-Republican demographic, which has shifted in recent years to favor Democratic candidates. 

And in a neck-and-neck election, this group of voters could play a decisive role. 

All six Republicans named in the lawsuit had also voted against certifying Pennsylvania's electoral votes in the 2020 election, she added.

But in the final sprint to Election Day in a dead-heat presidential race, these court battles aren't confined solely to Pennsylvania. 

In recent weeks, the Republican Party has filed similar lawsuits challenging the overseas registration process for voters in North Carolina and Michigan, each considered "toss-up" states in the 2024 election, and where Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump are tied nearly neck-and-neck.

Asked for comment, Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, one of six Pennsylvania Republican plaintiffs, told Fox News that the case "is simple." 

The Pennsylvania Department of State is "unlawfully diluting the rightful ballots of the brave men and women who serve our nation and their family members," he said in a statement. "Unelected career bureaucrats have no right to ignore federal laws that secure our elections."

"In the Navy JAG Corps, I made daily trips into the red zone in Baghdad, this is personal to me," he added. "I will always stand up for those in uniform who deserve to have their right to a secure election protected."

Houlahan dismissed the lawsuits in a statement of her own, however, describing them to Fox News as an "assault on the patriotism of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and guardians who have taken an oath to defend and protect the United States," and on their spouses and families also living overseas. 

"It is desperate, cynical, and unconstitutional to attempt to deprive American citizens - no matter where they live - of their right to vote and to have their votes counted," Houlahan said. 

There are also important questions of standing in each of the cases. 

These changes were ordered in 2001, in response to controversy over the 2000 presidential election, including ballots cast by U.S. voters in Florida and overseas, and then in 2009, as a result of new efficiency standards included in the 2010 NDAA. 

"While some of our colleagues are actively seeking to sow discord and misinformation, we urge you to carry out President Biden's executive order and Federal Law to the best of your ability and ensure that all Americans have their constitutionally guaranteed right to participate in federal elections," the lawmakers told Austin in their letter.