Goddamn it, Texas, I don't have time for this today. Fine.…

OK. Texas filed a motion for leave to file a complaint against PA, GA, MI and WI in the Supreme Court. Someone else can lawsplain to you how that works, or you can google the highlighted rules, but briefly, this is a thing they can theoretically do

There is a MASSIVE contradiction at the heart of this complaint, and its doomed for other reasons, too (standing, laches, abstention)

They have three theories for why they can sue:
1) Violation of the Electors Clause of the Constitution ("the Constitution gives state legislatures exclusive control of the manner of selecting electors and judicial action can't change it)
2) "Counties applied different rules"

And 3) "you didn't have as strict voter ID requirements as we'd like, and that's unconstitutional for reasons"

That's it. That's the case

They're also leaning into "every violation of state election law is a violation of the constitution" which will fly like a lead balloon

OK, on to the Complaint

And the contradiction.

The core of their complaint is that when the Constitution gives state legislatures the right to direct the "Manner" of appointing electors, that right is exclusive, and the "Manner" set by the legislature can't be varied *at all* by courts or executives

So what relief do they want? "SCOTUS, please extend December 14th voting date for presidential electors, which Congress set by statute"

The 14th, btw, is NOT the deadline for "appointing" electors. The statutory deadline for appointing electors is Nov 3 (Election Day). (Everything that happens after election day, including later certifications, is just determining *who* was appointed that day, by the election)

The 14th is the day that Congress, by statute, set for the appointed electors to actually vote for President

But the Constitution - in the very same section that says State Legislatures decide the "Manner" in which Electors are appointed - also says this:

This creates 2 problems for Texas and Trumpian Dead-Enders.

First, Congress already set the day for choosing electors as November 3. No state can choose electors on any subsequent date

Second, Congress set the date for the vote as 12/14.

And if the delegation of "Manner" to state legislatures means that state courts can't, for example, extend ballot receipt deadlines because the delegation is EXCLUSIVE and only state legislatures can set those rules, then ...

The delegation of "Time" to Congress must - must, no way around it - ALSO be exclusive, meaning the Supreme Court would have no authority AT ALL to extend the December 14th date, either

Either they're both exclusive (in which case SCOTUS can't grant the requested relief) or they are both subject to judicial oversight (in which case Texas's substantive claim is doomed). There's no third option

Texas then adopts the crazy conspiracy theories that have already been presented to and repeatedly rejected by other courts around the country.