A few congressional Democrats opposed certifying Donald Trump’s political defeat after his 2016 victory. Democrats launched an harassment strategy to compel those officials to withdraw votes in order to confirm Joe Biden’s candidacy for president in 2020 out of concern for the administration. Wielding trials and challenges of lawsuits, their message is clear: rubber-stamp poll results or more.
Last year, for example, election busybody Marc Elias threatened Democratic leaders in a blog on X, implying that, should they not affirm election results, he may reimburse them.
” In 2020, Trump tried to overturn the vote. My team and I beat him in jury 60+ days”, Elias posted on X. ” In 2022, Republicans in some regions refused to confirm. We sued and won. If you try to rig the election in 2024, you will be sued and you will gain.
However, Elias is not the only one who has used the law to intimidate election officials who dare to question the results or operation of an vote. In important swing states, some of the most egregious cases are occurring.
Georgia
Next week, the Georgia State Election Board unanimously decided that state election board users are entitled to a “reasonable examination” into election irregularities before they can confirm the results of an election. The law clarifies that county board members are accountable for certifying an poll” after reasonable examination that the election’s calculation and canvassing are complete and accurate and that the benefits are a true and accurate budgeting of all votes cast in that vote.”
However, Fulton County committee member Julie Adams was threatened by the Democrat Party of Georgia for her determination to not confirm the election results for the government’s March national preference major.
Adams claims she requested vote data such as the skilled voting record, the vote check-in record, and drop-box vote recap sheets, among other things, prior to the certification of the national preference primary. Adams claims that the elections director allegedly refused to provide the information, leading to Adams never certifying the effects. However, ten days later, the Democrat Party of Georgia properly threatened criminal charges against members of the Fulton County panel if they did not, like Adams, not certify the results.
Nevada
The country’s secretary of state and attorney general want to use the Supreme Court to compel elected officials to confirm the results of the election.
In July, three members of the Washoe County Board of Commissioners decided not to accept two tell key races because it was claimed that some of the allegations of dubious actions were made during the open comment portion of a hearing. According to County Commissioner Clara Andriola, it was” not the first time that we’ve heard a lot of concerns about procedures, a lot of concerns about alleged mishaps” and that it warranted “further investigation.” One complainant, Val White, alleged she saw “multiple thumb drives” being used during both the election and recount after being allegedly told no thumb drives would be permitted.
Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar and Aaron D. Ford, both of whom are concerned, filed a petition with the state Supreme Court in July, alleging that the Nevada Administrative Code mandates counties to certify recount results “within 5 working days after the completion of the recount.”
Three county commissioners, according to Aguilar, “refused to canvass accurate election results this week as required by law.” This election has the potential to set a risky precedent for Nevada elections. It is unacceptable for any public official to stifle the support of their constituents.
” I take the Attorney General’s Office’s responsibility seriously to protect Nevada’s elections from anyone who might try to delegitimize or underrepresent a count of the people,” Ford said.
Aguilar stated in a release earlier this month that the motion to hear the case was officially filed with the Nevada Supreme Court.” We must have a legal precedent affirming that the canvass of the vote is ministerial.
Arizona
After they stalled in certifying the 2022 county election results, Arizona Attorney General Kristin Mayes charged Terry Thomas Crosby and Peggy Judd with two felonies in Arizona’s Cochise County: conspiracy and interfering with an election officer. The duo’s motions for dismissal and remandation were recently denied by a federal district judge.
This occurred the same year that Maricopa, the county with the highest population in Arizona, was subject to allegations about the 2022 midterms ‘ administration, including claims of improper calibrating printers that resulted in ballot rejections. Jennifer Wright, the attorney general’s assistant, even wrote a letter to Maricopa election officials asking for clarification on the election administration. The request “prompted Cochise and Mohave Counties to delay their respective election certifications until the 28th” of November,” according to my colleague Shawn Fleetwood.
Crosby and Judd made the decision to not certify the Cochise County results, claiming that” they were n’t satisfied that the machines used to tabulate ballots were properly certified for use in elections, despite state and federal election officials saying they were,” The Associated Press reported. Before the midterm race, the Republicans also reportedly “abandoned plans to hand-count all ballots, which a court said would be illegal” . ,
Nothing says protecting democracy like putting people in jail who disagree with what they are accused of saying in a statement regarding the allegations against Crisby and Judd, according to Mayes.
Brianna Lyman is a correspondent for The Federalist on elections. With a degree in international political economy, Brianna received her degree from Fordham University. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2
