TOLEDO – Ohio GOP State Rep. Derek Merrin, who is running for Congress against vulnerable Democrat incumbent Marcy Kaptur, spoke to Fox News Digital about why the issues affecting Northwest Ohioans in 2024 are putting Kaptur’s 41-year tenure in Congress in jeopardy.

“Northwest Ohio has been left behind for many years because of Marcy Kaptur and Marcy Kaptur’s values do not represent northwest Ohio,” Merrin told Fox News Digital at the Lucas County GOP Headquarters about why he decided to enter the race to try to unseat the longtime Democratic congresswoman. 

“I felt there’s a real opportunity to win this race. There’s a real opportunity to change and I really believe that the future of our country is at stake and we have to stop the liberal policies of Joe Biden and Marcy Kaptur of the Democratic Party to save our country.”

Kaptur, currently serving her 21st term in Congress representing Ohio’s 9th Congressional District, is considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the House. While the Cook Political Report ranks her race as “Lean Democrat,” redistricting following the 2020 census has Republicans believing the seat is a prime opportunity to ensure control of the House and that they can flip the seat.

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Merrin told Fox News Digital that he expects a significant number of Independents, and some Democrats, to support his candidacy pointing to the “ineffectiveness” of Congress and unpopular Democrat policies.

“The vast majority of Americans are fed up with the Democratic Party but guess what?” Merrin said. “Not everyone’s a Republican. People want policy. They want to lower the cost of living. They want secure borders, and they’re tired of the political class. I’m going to pick up votes from Democrats. I’ll pick up a lot of votes from independents because my message and policies are aligned with what they want to see happen.”

“They want to pay less money at the pump. They want their health insurance to go down. They want their housing costs to go down. They want their insurance costs to go down. They want to be able to take their family out to eat for under $100 every time they go out to eat. And I’m going to work on policies that are going to get our country moving again, that are going to bring back American jobs and to lower the cost of living and to secure our border.” 

WATCH: DEM. REP. SNATCHES PHONE IN TESTY AIRPORT EXCHANGE OVER BIDEN’S MENTAL CLARITY: ‘WHO OWNS YOU?’

Kaptur is one of eight Democrats running in 2024 in a district that voted for Trump in 2020. Trump won the state of Ohio by 8 points in 2020 and is expected to equal or surpass that in 2024.

“This is a new district,” Merrin said. “This is a Republican-leaning district and Marcy Kaptur’s values are being exposed for what she’s actually done in Washington, D.C. She doesn’t believe anyone should be allowed to drive a gas-powered car. She believes basically everyone needs to pay more taxes. She puts illegal immigrants ahead of United States citizens. And when people realize her record and her failure, she’s been one of the most ineffective Congress people passing legislation in our country. People want change. They’re worse off than they were four years ago, and I think they’re looking for a new change and I’m going to deliver it.” 

Merrin told Fox News Digital that when he goes around his district talking to voters, it’s clear that the economy and inflation are the number one cause for concern.

“The cost of living, I mean, you look, you can’t take a family of four out in northwest Ohio at a restaurant for under $100 and people can’t afford it,” Merrin said. “You look at car insurance, you look at home insurance, you look at the cost of living overall. It’s hurting people and people are very uncertain on where we’re at and they’re looking for policies that are going to lower the cost of living, lower the cost of energy and make their lives better. People want their kids to be able to experience the American dream that they were able to experience. And I think most families believe that’s in jeopardy right now.”

Pro-Merrin ads running on television in northwest Ohio have highlighted Kaptur’s record of voting with the Biden administration 90% of the time, and Kaptur has also faced criticism from Merrin for introducing just 5 bills that have become law in 41 years, which her campaign pushed back on citing hundreds of bills that she has cosponsored.

“Yes, they do,” Merrin told Fox News Digital if voters in his district are in favor of term limits. “People want term limits for members of Congress. I support term limits. I’ve signed a pledge to support legislation that would limit members of Congress in the House to three terms and I think that’s a winning message that’s resonating with voters.”

Merrin also hit Kaptur on illegal immigration and said that Ohioans are “fed up” with the negative consequences stemming from the millions of illegal immigrants who have entered the country over the last four years.

“Crime has surged among our community and a large part of it’s due to illegal immigration,” Merrin said. “I mean, tens of thousands of people are in northwest Ohio here illegally and it’s just we’re tired and fed up with it.”

“We want to put American citizens first. They’re burdening our health care system, our education system and our criminal justice system. And it’s not too much to ask to say, hey, our federal government needs to secure our borders and put American citizens first and Marcy Kaptur, she’s put a knife in the back of the American people, in union workers, allowing illegal immigrants to come in and take their jobs. It’s an outrage. It’s outrageous. She’s not a proponent of the working man in middle class America. She’s doing everything she can to undermine the traditional values of our country in the working class of our country.”

Merrin, who had over 20 supporters at the Lucas County GOP HQ making calls for him on Saturday, told Fox News Digital he is encouraged by the enthusiasm he sees from Republicans voting early in his district and said there is “more enthusiasm” on his side than Kaptur’s.

“Republicans are fired up,” Merrin said. “And people that are fed up with Marcy Kaptur and the Democratic policies are fired up. We got a lot of momentum. Listen, they are pouring millions of dollars against me right now to defeat me and to try to hold me back because they know we’re very close to winning this race.”

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Kaptur’s campaign called Merrin a “puppet” politician and referenced Merrin’s past support for convicted politician Larry Householder.

“Unlike Congresswoman Kaptur, who has stood up to her own party and worked across the aisle to deliver for working families, Derek Merrin is a puppet politician with no spine who sells out working Ohioans to pad his corporate masters’ pockets, including voting to hike energy rates for Ohio families after taking campaign cash from a now-imprisoned politician who Merrin voted to keep in office AFTER he was indicted,” the campaign, who has been running ads with a similar message, said. 

The Merrin campaign responded to those ads over the weekend calling them a “desperate and pathetic attempt to distract voters from Marcy Kaptur’s failed policies.”

The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled Monday that voters will not be allowed to weigh in on a ballot measure to expand medical marijuana in the state, arguing that the initiative failed to fully explain what it entails.

In a 4-3 decision, the justices threw out the initiative just two weeks before the election, according to The Associated Press. It is too late to remove the measure from the ballot, as early voting began on Monday, so the court instructed election officials not to count any votes on the initiative.

The proposed constitutional amendment would have expanded the definition of medical professionals who can certify patients for medical cannabis, added qualifying conditions and made medical cannabis cards valid for three years.

The court ruled the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024 did not fully inform voters that it would have removed the authority of the state Legislature to change the 2016 constitutional amendment that legalized medical marijuana in the state.

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“This decision doomed the proposed ballot title, and it is plainly misleading,” Justice Shawn Womack wrote in the majority opinion.

The court also said the initiative did not inform voters that the amendment would legalize up to an ounce of marijuana possession for any purpose if marijuana were legalized at the federal level.

Organizers of the initiative said in court filings that the ballot measure did cite the number of provisions that would be repealed and argued that previous court rulings said measures did not need to summarize the current law that would be amended.

Justice Cody Hiland said in a dissent that the court was ignoring decades-long precedent by ruling the measure’s language was misleading.

“Long ago, this court established definitive standards for evaluating the sufficiency of popular names and ballot titles,” Hiland wrote. “This court has not deviated from those standards until today.”

The court also rejected election officials’ reasons for ruling the measure’s organizers fell short of the signatures needed for placing the measure on the ballot.

EARLY IN-PERSON VOTING BEGINS FOR ALASKA, ARKANSAS, CONNECTICUT, IDAHO, NORTH DAKOTA, SOUTH CAROLINA, TEXAS

Arkansans for Patient Access, the group behind the measure, said it would continue its push to expand the medical marijuana program and that the signatures it gathered displayed widespread support.

“We are deeply disappointed in the Court’s decision,” the group said in a statement. “It seems politics has triumphed over legal precedent.”

The group filed a lawsuit after Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston said it fell short of the signatures required to qualify for the ballot. The issue over the ballot measure’s language was raised by Protect Arkansas Kids, a group that opposed the measure and intervened in the case.

Thurston’s office had refused to count some of the signatures submitted, claiming the group had not followed paperwork rules about paid signature gatherers.

Earlier this year, the state rejected petitions submitted in favor of a pro-life ballot measure on similar grounds.

In July, the state said the group had fallen short of the required signatures for the medical marijuana measure but qualified for 30 additional days to circulate petitions. The state then told the group that any additional signatures gathered by paid signature gatherers would not be counted if required information was submitted by the canvassing company rather than the measure’s sponsors.

The court said Monday that this decision was wrong, arguing that state law allows a wide range of people to be considered sponsors of the measure.

Other groups had been campaigning against the measure, even as it was unclear whether it would be on the ballot next month. The Family Council Action Committee announced last week it planned to launch a statewide tour opposing the measure.

“A measure this bad simply has no business being on the ballot or in the constitution,” the committee’s director, Jerry Cox, said after Monday’s ruling.

About half of U.S. states allow recreational marijuana and a dozen more have legalized medical marijuana. In November, voters in Florida, North Dakota and South Dakota will decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana for adults, while two measures on medical marijuana will be on ballots in Nebraska.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Liz Cheney teamed up with Vice President Kamala Harris Monday in a last-minute effort to appeal to moderate Republicans who the former congresswoman believes might be uneasy about voting for Donald Trump but are afraid to say so publicly. 

Harris and Cheney visited three counties: Chester County in Pennsylvania, Oakland County in Michigan and Waukesha County in Wisconsin. Each were won by Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations who ran against Trump for the Republican nomination. 

During a townhall in Michigan, Cheney framed the November election as a choice between “right and wrong.”

TRUMP CAMPAIGN SENDS LETTER TO CBS DEMANDING UNEDITED ‘60 MINUTES’ HARRIS TRANSCRIPT, TEASES POTENTIAL LAWSUIT

“I certainly have many Republicans who will say to me, I can’t be public. They do worry about a whole range of things, including violence. But they’ll do the right thing,” Cheney said. 

The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney then predicted that “millions” of moderate Republicans who are too afraid to go against Trump publicly will vote for Harris. 

“And I would just remind people, if you’re at all concerned, you can vote your conscience and not ever have to say a word to anybody. And there will be millions of Republicans who do that on November 5th, vote for Vice President Harris,” Cheney said, eliciting applause from the audience. 

Cheney was essentially exiled from the Republican Party for participating in a congressional investigation of Trump’s involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, events at the U.S. Capitol. 

She lost her congressional seat in a primary battle two years ago.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Monday pushed back on the idea that Vice President Kamala Harris has struggled to distinguish herself from President Biden on the campaign trail. 

A reporter suggested Harris has had difficulty separating herself from Biden’s domestic and foreign policy positions in “interview after interview.”

“Does she have a green light? If she wanted to express a different point of view than the administration on any topic — foreign or domestic — she could do so? Or, is she required to be a loyal vice president to President Biden.” 

“I disagree,” Jean-Pierre shot back, arguing that she’s seen Harris as “incredibly strong” and “very clear-eyed” in interviews.

WHITE HOUSE: BIDEN IS NOT HOLDING HARRIS BACK, HAS BEEN ‘REALLY CLEAR ABOUT PASSING THE TORCH’

“She has indeed been a partner with this president and these successes that we have seen from this administration,” Jean-Pierre said. 

She said Biden has seen Harris as loyal but understands that she will be charting “her own path” forward. 

Pressed again to respond to allegations that Harris has failed to distinguish policy positions from Biden, Jean-Pierre said: “I’ve not seen that.” 

Jean-Pierre said she had instead seen a vice president who “has shown strength and leadership” and one who “cares about the American people.” 

SECRET SERVICE TRAINED AT MOCK WHITE HOUSE THAT HOLLYWOOD PRODUCER TYLER PERRY BUILT AS STAGE

“That’s what we have seen. That’s what many of the American people want to see. They want to see a fighter. And that’s who she is,” Jean-Pierre said. 

Since formally garnering the nomination for vice president, Harris has received flak for what critics believe has been her failure to clearly demonstrate how a Harris administration would be different from the Biden administration. 

The question was put to Harris at a campaign rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Friday. Asked to name one policy she would’ve done differently over the last three-and-a-half years, Harris dismissed the question, saying it was not the tradition of vice presidents to criticize their presidents.

And earlier this month, Harris told the co-hosts of “The View” she couldn’t think of anything significant she would’ve done differently than Biden. 

“There is not a thing that comes to mind,” Harris said when asked the question. 

When asked the same question during an interview with Stephen Colbert, Harris said: “I’m obviously not Joe Biden.” 

The vice president has hinted at what a Harris administration would look like. During a border visit last month, Harris proposed toughening Biden’s border policies. 

Harris has affirmed her support for legalizing marijuana saying: “I just think we have come to a point where we have to understand that we need to legalize it and stop criminalizing it.” The vice president has also proposed lowering the capital gains taxes from the levelels under President Biden. 

Welcome to the Fox News’ Politics newsletter, with the latest political news from Washington, D.C. and updates from the 2024 campaign trail. 

Here’s what’s happening…

– New report shows a clear front-runner in Harris, Trump campaign cash race

–Nathan Wade admitted to multiple White House meetings during Trump Georgia probe, transcript suggests

-Supreme Court rejects lawyer Michael Cohen lawsuit against Trump over alleged retaliation

The deadly shooting at former President Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania on July 13 was a “preventable” incident stemming from a lack of proper planning and communication between law enforcement agencies, according to a new report.

The House Task Force investigating the attempts on Trump’s life is releasing their interim findings on Monday, with a final report expected by Dec. 13.

“Although the findings in this report are preliminary, the information obtained during the first phase of the Task Force’s investigation clearly shows a lack of planning and coordination between the Secret Service and its law enforcement partners before the rally,” the report said…Read more

‘BLANKET AMNESTY’: 11 million illegals would have become citizens under bill that Kamala Harris promoted…Read more

‘YOU CAN TOO’: Harris invokes Jimmy Carter in bid to get supporters to vote early…Read more

‘RIGHT CALL’: First Lady Jill Biden tells ABC that President Biden dropping out of the race was ‘right call’…Read more

‘BAD POLICY’: Harris death tax reform could impact more than just the ultra-wealthy, experts say…Read more

INVESTIGATIVE REPORT: Pentagon lacks counter-drone procedure leading to incursions like at Langley, experts say…Read more

‘HISTORICALLY BAD’: Critics drag Harris for ‘cringe’ pre-recorded video aired during Catholic charity dinner…Read more

SHROUD OF SECRECY: How a secret ballot could undermine a potential Trump endorsement in race to the top…Read more

‘WINDOW’ OF OPPORTUNITY: Graham says Israel has window to ‘replace Hamas forever’ after Sinwar killing: ‘Door is now open’…Read more

‘HEAD OF THE SNAKE’: Speaker Johnson says now is the time for US, Israel to go after Iran: ‘Head of the snake’…Read more

WHO’S MORE ACCESSIBLE?: Trump-Vance ticket has done combined 87 interviews since August compared to 48 for Harris-Walz…Read more

‘JESUS IS KING’: Vance takes faith approach after Harris mocked pro-life protesters at rally…Read more

MAKE A WISH: What Donald Trump said he’s getting Kamala Harris for her birthday…Read more

MC’DONALD’ TRUMP: Trump makes fries at Pennsylvania McDonald’s: ‘I’ve now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala’…Read more

‘BELITTING AND INSULTING’: New ‘insulting’ Harris ad target’s Black men’s love lives…Read more

PARTING WAYS: Harris campaign abandons Biden in final weeks before Election Day…Read more

WISCONSIN SENATE: GOP challenger ties Sen Baldwin’s remark about Trump voters to Clinton’s infamous ‘deplorables’ moment…Read more

‘SOULS TO THE POLLS’: Harris makes pitch to Black churches after telling protester praising Jesus ‘you’re at the wrong rally’…Read more

‘1M TO SOMEONE IN SWING STATES’: Here’s how Elon Musk’s $1 million a day give-away to battleground voters works…Read more

NECK AND NECK: Trump, Harris neck and neck as Dems lose ground among Latino, Black voters…Read more

ELECTION THREATS TASK FORCE: DOJ deploys district elections officers to handle ‘threats and intimidation’…Read more

CATCH AND RELEASE: Blue state, ICE battle over releasing illegal immigrants as expert warns politicians put ideology over safety…Read more

‘VITRIOLIC HATRED’: Elon Musk to upgrade security after Der Spiegel labels him ‘Public Enemy No. 2’…Read more

‘HURRICANE HELENE FIRSTHAND’: Trump plans to tour the devastation left by Hurricane Helene in latest battleground state stop…Read more

‘DELAYING THE TRANSPARENCY’: Pressure grows on Georgia Secretary of State to release results of non-citizen voter roll audit…Read more

PEACH FIGHT: Georgia casts over 1.4M ballots as critical battleground shatters early voting records…Read more

GOV GRILLED: Dem battleground gov has no answer when pressed for policy difference between Harris, Biden…Read more

DEMOCRACY ’24: Early In-person voting begins for Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota, South Carolina, Texas…Read more

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more on FoxNews.com.

EXCLUSIVE: A right-leaning research group is claiming that the Department of Veterans Affairs under the Biden administration back paid more than $130 million to 1,700 people fired under a Trump-era law that allows for easier accountability for federal employees.

Through Freedom of Information Act filings, the America First Policy Institute will soon release the results of its probe.

Its investigation also found the VA reinstated more than 100 terminated employees who were fired for indiscretions ranging from negligence to sleeping on the job. Dozens of dismissals accounted for in documents reviewed by Fox News Digital did not have other specific offenses listed with them.

Following the passage of the 2017 law, the VA reportedly failed to bargain with its public employee union and was ordered to attend arbitration. Because of this, according to a source familiar, the VA could have been required to rehire all previously terminated employees, including those fired for “grievous misconduct” like patient abuse or harassment.

The agency ultimately reached a settlement with the union in 2023 and only 106 out of 1,700 employees offered financial compensation so far have been reinstated.

GOP VETERAN LAWMAKER DROPS SCATHING ‘STOLEN VALOR’ LETTER TO WALZ AS TRUMP CAMP RIPS ‘FREAKISH TIMOTHY’

The investigation found that of the more than 4,000 terminated employees, more than 1,700 received back pay or compensation.

At that rate, back pay to the entire group of former employees would total $300 million, a statement from AFPI read.

Former Trump VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said the current administration has “let down American veterans and taxpayers” with such actions.

“Those fired for mistreating American veterans should not even be allowed near the VA, much less reinstated,” said Wilkie, now a fellow at AFPI’s Center for American Security. 

“Instead of litigating these baseless grievances or working with Congress to strengthen the Accountability Act, the Biden-Harris administration surrendered to the government employee union. Taxpayers and veterans who receive care from poor performers will pay the price.”

ARMY VET PREDICTS FIRST RED FLIP OF ‘POOREST’ NC DISTRICT SINCE 1883, CITING BIDEN-ERA ‘MALAISE’

In 2017, under the previous administration, VA failed to bargain with AFGE on the implementation of this law — as legally required by VA’s contract. As a result, the agency was repeatedly court-ordered to reinstate fired employees, the source said.

But current VA leadership is adamant that no employee previously fired for serious offenses like patient abuse has been reinstated.

“VA has ensured that bad actors cannot return to work and saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars,” a department spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

“The [Trump] administration’s implementation of the 2017 law was repeatedly struck down by the courts, putting VA at risk of having to rehire individuals who committed patient abuse, harassment, and criminal activity — and putting taxpayers on the hook for more than $1 billion.”

The spokesperson said the VA will continue to hold employees accountable who mistreat patients or commit other transgressions, and that anyone who is reinstated will be held to that high standard or be dismissed. 

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“Veterans trust VA at the highest rate in history — and we are delivering more care and more benefits to more veterans than ever before,” they said.

The law Trump signed, authored by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., was the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act — meant to do what its title laid out.

It gave the agency new authority to terminate employees for poor performance or misconduct more quickly, and led to multiple grievances being filed by the public employee union AFGE.

Some of the reinstated employees were originally terminated for sleeping on the job, unauthorized access to employee medical records and failure to follow procedures, according to FOIA documents obtained by Fox News Digital.

A group of House Democrats is protesting proposed GOP-led voting restrictions cracking down on overseas ballots, arguing that the measure – the latest in a string of GOP-led efforts to strengthen election security – is overly restrictive and risks disenfranchising thousands of U.S. service members stationed abroad. 

Their protest comes just weeks after six out of eight House Republicans from Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation filed a federal lawsuit earlier this month, aiming to get the Keystone State to add additional vetting processes for U.S. residents living overseas. 

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.

FLURRY OF PRE-ELECTION LEGAL CASES IS NOW ‘STANDARDIZED’ STRATEGY, EXPERTS SAY

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.

In a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, six Democrats, all of whom served in the U.S. military, voiced deep concern over the lawsuit and its potential for discounting the votes of U.S. service members in key battleground states.

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. 

The lawsuit, they added, threatens to disenfranchise “tens of thousands” of service members abroad.  

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

More than 1.2 million overseas ballots were cast in the 2020 election, according to data from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. In Pennsylvania alone, there are roughly 25,000 registered U.S. voters living abroad. 

“Election-denying extremists, afraid they are losing this election, are actively working to disenfranchise members of our military deployed outside of the United States,” Houlahan, an Air Force veteran, told Fox News. 

NEBRASKA HIGH COURT RESTORES VOTING RIGHT FOR THOUSANDS OF CONVICTED FELONS

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.

GOP plaintiffs argued in both states that the overseas voters do not meet the necessary criteria to register and vote in the election.

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. 

SOLDIERS WERE FIRST: HOW AND WHY THE STATES STARTED AND NOW HANDLE EARLY AND ABSENTEE VOTING

“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. 

Though federal law defers to individual states to establish their own election rules, the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, or UOCAVA, tasks the secretary of defense with implementing the registration and voting for U.S. service members and government employees living abroad. 

The UOCAVA, passed in 1986, states that the voting process for Americans living overseas should not be “overly burdensome.” It has also twice been significantly revised and modernized to improve the process of overseas voting, according to a Congressional Research Service report. 

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. 

It’s unclear how the lawsuits will turn out, though a judge in Michigan said last week that the Republican plaintiffs waited too long to bring their claims before the court, noting that the court “shouldn’t be changing the rules for this election two-and-a-half weeks ahead of time.”

North Carolina, for its part, will hear from Republicans this week. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Sunday brought a stark split screen to the 2024 presidential race – Vice President Kamala Harris marking her 60th with Stevie Wonder singing “Happy Birthday” in Georgia, while former President Trump worked the drive-thru at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania.

Celebrities have been flocking to support Harris’ 2024 campaign since she entered the race over the summer, and battleground states are seeing their fair share of A-lister visits as early voting kicks off.

Among the places where star power has been most pronounced is Georgia, which has seen a litany of famous faces.

GEORGIA GOP CHAIR SHARES 2-PRONGED ELECTION STRATEGY AS TRUMP WORKS TO WIN BACK PEACH STATE

It comes as both campaigns work to generate support in the state that President Biden won by less than 1% in 2020.

The winner will likely need a significant amount of support from the state’s Black population and middle-class suburban voters outside of Atlanta.

For his part to win over working voters, Trump cooked and served french fries to customers at a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania on Sunday, while accusing Harris of lying about once working at the fast-food restaurant.

“I’ve now worked for 15 minutes more than Kamala at McDonald’s,” Trump said through the drive-thru window as he handed out orders. 

Meanwhile, part of Harris’ strategy to win over voters appears to be reaching out to Hollywood celebrities. Before Wonder’s appearance on Sunday, Georgia also saw rally appearances by Grammy-winning artists Meghan Thee Stallion and Usher.

In September, music icon John Legend appeared at a fireside chat event aimed at engaging young Georgia voters, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.

Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts also returned to her hometown of Smyrna, Georgia, to campaign for Harris. 

TRUMP VS HARRIS ROUND 2? VOTERS IN KEY GA COUNTY REVEAL IF THEY WANT SECOND DEBATE

Musical artist MAJOR, stars of Bravo’s “Married To Medicine,” “Orange Is The New Black” actress Uzo Aduba, and “The Walking Dead” actress Danai Gurira have all traveled to Georgia to help Harris.

Georgia is not the only state where Harris received celebrity support – band Bon Iver performed for her campaign in Wisconsin, singer Lizzo appeared in Detroit and actress Jennifer Garner is holding events in Arizona.

But the concentrated flow of celebrities to Georgia reflects the state’s critical status in the election.

The Peach State has also already shattered previous voter turnout records, with more than 1.4 million early and absentee ballots recorded so far.

TRUMP VS HARRIS ROUND 2? VOTERS IN KEY GA COUNTY REVEAL IF THEY WANT SECOND DEBATE

Celebrity support is not a new phenomenon in presidential races by any stretch, but it’s worth noting Harris has seen much more high-profile public support from Hollywood than Trump.

Trump’s campaign won endorsements from NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, who appeared with Trump’s running mate Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, in North Carolina; actor Dennis Quaid, who spoke in support of Trump in California; Grammy winner Kanye “Ye” West, and country singer Jason Aldean, among others.

Harris’ endorsers also include Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift and Billie Eilish. 

The father of a trans athlete at a New Hampshire high school is requesting a non-prison sentence for his child pornography distribution charges, citing his advocacy for his trans daughter’s fight to play in girls’ sports in a letter to the federal judge.

Marc Jacques, the father of New Hampshire high school trans athlete Maëlle Jacques, was sentenced on Sept. 9 to 60 months behind federal bars, according to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital. The U.S. Probation Office allowed him to get his affairs in order before reporting to prison in December.

In his letter to U.S. District Judge Paul Barbadoro, Jacques argues his collaboration with the ACLU and GLAAD is essential to support Maëlle’s fight to be able to continue playing in girls’ sports teams. 

He noted in the letter that Maëlle does not have the support of Maëlle’s mother because of Maëlle’s transgender identity. Jacques wrote that he has had full custody for the last several years, making him the sole support system for Maëlle and Maëlle’s brother, Remi.

VIOLENT CONVICT’S TAXPAYER-FUNDED SEX CHANGE CHALLENGED BY STATE AG AFTER JUDGE’S APPROVAL

“As a transgendered teen, Maëlle has had a very, very tough time finding acceptance and seeking to love themselves. Since the Spring of 2023, Maëlle has faced online bullying, vicious attacks on social media and has been the subject of discrimination in pamphlets distributed publicly throughout our school district, as just some examples,” Jacques wrote.  

“Before finding joy in school sports, Maëlle suffered from anorexia, depression and anxiety and practiced self-harm (cutting). Since the NH Legislature began their attempts to take rights away from Maëlle and other trans teens this past legislative session, Maëlle has become more anxious once again and has had episodes of self-harm,” he said.

Maëlle is also seeking out medical advice on gender transition treatments, his letter notes, “and with her mother being adamantly opposed to gender-affirming medical care, I am Maelle’s sole support system.”

“The Pediatric Endocrinologist at DHMC is also exploring the option of providing a medical opinion that the gender dysphoria from which Maëlle is suffering can be declared a disability, most notably in the context of the sports ban,” Jacques wrote. 

“This potential option is another strong example of Maëlle needing my support and caretaking as her mother and stepmother will oppose this option and any other option which could lead to Maëlle’s playing high school sports.”

Maëlle also submitted a letter to the judge pleading for a non-custodial sentence for Jacques, and said that Jacques has been attending therapy and group rehab for his crime.

“If I were unable to stay with him due to a prison sentence, it would be a major strike to my own mental stability as I would lose the home I grew up in and the safety I feel inside of it, as well as the sheer support from him which I simply do not receive at my mother’s,” Maëlle wrote. “The work I have begun to do with the ACLU in regard to my existence as a trans girl in sports is also reliant upon his moral support in my testifying and meeting with Senators. A prison sentence would also harm me and my brother’s future as we would stop receiving support for college payments without his salary.”

The judge has not ruled on a non-custodial sentence for Jacques.

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According to court documents obtained by Fox News Digital, Jacques pleaded guilty to one charge of distribution of child pornography.

In February 2022, authorities began investigating multiple CyberTips reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) by MediaLab/Kik, prosecutors wrote in court documents. The platform flagged that a user named “wayne9985” had uploaded 49 files that appeared to depict child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to other users through private messages between Nov. 24 and Dec. 6, 2021.

Investigators identified Jacques as the user behind the Kik account after tracing IP addresses linked to some of the uploads, including one from his home in Newbury and another from his girlfriend’s residence in Hopkinton. Further inquiries revealed that Jacques’ residential IP address had been associated with over 40 prior CyberTips reported by Reddit, Google, Tumblr, and sendvid from 2018 to 2022. A search of Jacques’ Kik account showed he had disseminated at least 26 files of CSAM via private messages on various dates in November and December 2021.

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Maëlle, a student at Kearsage High School in New Hampshire, is nearly 6-feet in height, according to multiple reports. Jacques was allowed to play for Kearsage’s Regional despite a state law in New Hampshire that restricts transgender inclusion in girls’ sports. However, a federal judge’s ruling in September put Maëlle right back onto the field and into the locker room with the other girls’ athletes.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu signed House Bill 1205, also known as the “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act,” into law in July, which prohibits trans girls and women from competing on girls’ and women’s sports teams. But then Maëlle’s family, along with the family of another transgender athlete, sued to block it. 

A federal court granted a preliminary injunction on Sept. 10, which meant that the two athletes would be allowed to play until a final ruling is made. A final ruling has not been made, so they have continued to play despite the state law. 

The judge who made the ruling, Landya McCafferty, is a liberal who was appointed to her seat by former President Obama in 2013. 

Jacques was re-arrested on Friday, according to a local report, and is accused of obtaining more illegal images after his sentencing.

A probation officer reported that pretrial internet monitoring reports showed Jacques accessed a data storage device, which appeared to contain more videos of child sexual abuse material, around Aug. 10 and Sept. 16.

Court documents reportedly show that an arrest warrant was issued for Jacques, leading to his re-arrest on Friday. He is scheduled to be arraigned on Monday at the U.S. District Court in Concord.

Fox News Digital’s Jackson Thompson contributed to this report.

MALVERN, PA – The most high-profile GOP politician who is supporting Vice President Kamala Harris over former President Trump in the presidential election says that there are plenty of fellow Republicans who will quietly support the Democratic nominee.

“They’re going to vote the right way on Nov. 5. They might not be public about it, but they’ll do what they know is right,” former Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming said on Monday, as she teamed up with Harris at a campaign event in suburban Philadelphia in battleground Pennsylvania.

While Trump retains vast sway over the GOP, even a small sliver of Republicans supporting Harris could make a consequential impact in what will likely be a race within the margins in the key swing states.

As she turns up the volume on her efforts to court disgruntled Republicans in the closing stretch of the presidential campaign, Harris on Monday was teaming up with the most visible anti-Trump Republican, not only in Pennsylvania, but also in two other crucial swing states – Michigan and Wisconsin.

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Cheney, a one-time rising conservative star in the GOP who, in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, has vowed to do everything she can to prevent the former president from returning to power.

“We have the opportunity to tell the whole world who we are, and we have the chance to say, you know, we’re going to reject cruelty. We’re going to reject the kind of vile vitriol that we’ve seen from Donald Trump. We’re going to reject, the misogyny that we’ve seen from Donald Trump and JD Vance,” Cheney argued.

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And she emphasized that “we have the chance in this race to elect somebody who… is going to defend the rule of law. You know, Vice President Harris is going to defend our Constitution.”

Cheney said her endorsement of the vice president was “not at all a difficult choice” and she reached her decision in part as a mother. Harris is hoping Cheney’s support will help her win support from Republican women who may hesitate on backing their party’s presidential nominee.

Cheney, the daughter of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, once rose within the ranks of House Republican leadership.

But she was the most high-profile of the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach then-President Trump in early 2021 on a charge of inciting the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, which was waged by right-wing extremists and other Trump supporters who aimed to disrupt congressional certification of President Biden’s Electoral College victory in the 2020 election.

The conservative lawmaker and defense hawk immediately came under verbal attack from Trump and his allies and was eventually ousted from her No. 3 House GOP leadership position.

Cheney, who has been vocal in emphasizing the importance of defending the nation’s democratic process and of putting country before party, was one of only two Republicans who served on a special select committee organized by House Democrats that investigated the riot at the Capitol.

In 2022, she lost the GOP congressional primary in Wyoming to Harriet Hageman, a candidate backed by Trump.

At a speaking event in early September at Duke University in swing state North Carolina, Cheney announced that she would vote for Harris in the presidential election. Cheney’s father also endorsed Harris.

And Cheney formally backed Harris as they teamed up on the campaign for the first time earlier this month, at an event in Ripon, Wisconsin.

Cheney was not always a fan of Harris.

The Trump campaign has repeatedly pointed to a social media post by Cheney during the 2000 election in which she said, “@KamalaHarris has a more liberal voting record than Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Her radical leftist views-raising taxes, banning gun sales, taxpayer $ for abortion & illegal immigrant health care, eliminating private health insurance-would be devastating for America.”

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Trump, speaking with Fox News’ Bill Melugin during a rally in Michigan earlier this month, charged that Cheney was “terrible” and “a stupid war hawk. All she wants to do is shoot missiles at people.”

On Cheney’s backing of Harris, Trump argued, “I think they hurt each other. I think they’re so bad, both of them.”

And ahead of Monday’s event, Republican National Committee chair Michael Whatley argued in a statement that “Liz Cheney is just as unpopular as Kamala Harris is to Pennsylvania voters – bringing her to the Keystone State to try to catch up to President Trump’s lead is not a winning strategy.”

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Cheney and her father are part of a growing list of prominent Republicans who are supporting Harris.

Two other high-profile anti-Trump Republicans, former Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois and former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, had speaking roles at the Democratic National Convention, which was held six weeks ago in Chicago.

And Kinzinger and Duncan joined other prominent Republicans who are backing the vice president at an event with Harris last week in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, at the historic park where George Washington crossed the Delaware River on Christmas night 1776 – a turning point moment in the American Revolutionary War.

The lifelong Pennsylvania Republicans who introduced Harris at last week’s event – Bob and Kristina Lange – were part of a group sitting on stage behind Harris and Cheney at Monday’s event.

The Langes, who own a family farm in Chester County, Pennsylvania, have also starred in a Harris campaign commercial. The Langes say they’ve seen a barrage of hateful and derogatory messages following their appearance in the Harris ad.

But in an interview last week, they noted that their Republican friends say “that they’re on the same page that we are. They’re approaching us and telling us ‘We’re behind you.’ They’re thanking us for what we’re doing. They’re thanking us for being brave because many people are afraid to speak out against Trump because of revenge and other things like that.”

Harris, as she and Cheney took moderated questions from the audience at a theater in the outer suburbs of Philadelphia, reiterated that her administration “will not be a continuation of the Biden administration. I bring to it my own ideas, my own experiences.”

And while the town hall style event was aimed at speaking to suburban women, the vice president also made an appeal to younger voters, after answering a question from a college student.

“I love Gen Z,” she highlighted.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.