The Democratic Party Is Suing The Republican Party

Hang on to your seats, folks, because the election drama just took a turn for the unexpected. On Wednesday, reports surfaced that the Democratic National Committee would sue the Republican National Committee over Republican Donald Trump's claims that the election system is "rigged" against him. With the election less than two weeks away, the potential implications for such a suit seem nearly endless.

According to CNN, the lawsuit, as filed on Wednesday, makes the argument that the RNC has not done enough to stop Trump from making the corruption claim. The DNC argues that Trump's claims could adversely affect the voter turnout in minority communities. Lindsay Walters, national spokesperson for the RNC, on Wednesday called the suit "completely meritless."

You know the claims that the suit mentions. They're the quasi-Bernie Sanders-esque statements that Trump makes fairly regularly. He claims that the media and the polling systems are "rigged" to work against Trump and to benefit Democrat Hillary Clinton. When he tweets about the alleged corruption — which he so often does — Trump sometimes uses #DrainTheSwamp. Seemingly, it's all part of his campaign's attempt to position Trump as an outsider, someone who can go to Washington, D.C., and get things done.

The DNC's lawsuit implies that the Republican committee should have done more to refute Trump's claims of corruption. The Washington Post recently reported that Trump had tried to procure "ballot observers" to watch over voters as they cast their votes — you know, to ensure that nothing is rigged. Although the RNC publicly denounced this highly inappropriate practice, the DNC seems to think the GOP aren't doing enough to instill confidence in the democratic process.

The suit may be unexpected, but the legal precedent does exist. According to the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law, the RNC and DNC in 1982 entered into a "consent decree," allowing a federal court to review any "ballot security" measures. In 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama's campaign and the DNC sought to get the courts involved, according to the Brennan Center. Now, the DNC seems to claim with its suit that the RNC has violated the consent decree because of Trump's potentially intimidating "rigged" comments and references to ballot observers.

The RNC, however, isn't owning up to any wrongdoing. As Walters said Wednesday, "The RNC remains focused on getting out the vote."

Just as in all prior elections in which the consent decree was in effect, the RNC strictly abides by the consent decree and does not take part directly or indirectly in any efforts to prevent or remedy vote fraud. Nor do we coordinate with the Trump campaign or any other campaign or party organization in any efforts they may make in this area.

It's unclear how far the suit will get in two weeks. With just 13 days left until the election, there isn't much time for the DNC to reverse Trump's prolific cries of a rigged system. Nonetheless, the suit seems like a bold attempt to do just that.

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