Election Deniers Aim to Disrupt Vote Certification in November

By Joe Holomuzki

After the 2020 election and January 6th insurrection, threats to the election certification process have escalated, now with an increasing focus on county-level certification.

Since 2020, an increasing number of county officials across the country have voted to deny or delay certifying election results. In justifying these actions, county officials often cite false claims of voter fraud or irregularities. Denial and delay in certifying election results are in violations of the law, no matter the justification.

Officials that deny or delay certifying election results include avowed 2020 election deniers, Trump-loving zealots who believe in the Big Lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen. Election denialism has evolved into an entire movement, controlling a substantial faction of one of our nation’s political parties and diffusing into all levels of government. Avowed election deniers currently include:

• 171 sitting members of Congress
• 147 candidates on ballots for Congress
• 26 state office holders
• 1 candidate for President

For more information: https://electiondeniers.org/?utm_source=gs&utm_medium=search&utm_content=kws&utm_campaign=edphase3&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwq_G1BhCSARIsACc7NxohdK3wZ9FzK88i6zv4YnO8meeScXzjmtm8LBrYSa-GNV8MX9DvWLcaAjROEALw_wcB

Election Denial Is a Threat to Democracy

Election denial poses an ongoing threat to U.S. democracy by sowing unfounded doubts in our elections. Voters should not take the bait.

The state of Georgia is a case in point. The Georgia State Election Board recently voted to adopt a new rule that empowers local boards to pursue a “reasonable inquiry” into election results before certifying the election. Without defining or setting any limits on “reasonable inquiry,” the new rule endangers the certification process by delaying certification beyond the statutory deadline and creating chaos. The rule makes Georgia an outlier compared to every other state in the country, setting the state on a dangerous path come November.

I Live in Nevada. What happens to my ballot after I vote?

Elections are run by the states, which means state officials are responsible for protecting the will of the people.  So, in Nevada, exactly what is the certification process and when does it happen in the routine functioning of elections?

Local election officials (workers) in your county count all votes, whether cast by mail, in a secure drop box, or in person via early voting or on Election Day. This preliminary count is sent to the Secretary of State, Cisco Aguilar, who reviews the counts, and uploads this ‘unofficial’ initial count to a state election results website.

After Election Day, local election officials, supported by local counting boards, continue to review all mail, provisional, absentee, and illegible ballots, contacting voters to resolve any issues if at all possible and within the law.

Election officials canvass, or finalize, counts after results have been reviewed again and ballot inconsistencies have been resolved. County canvassing must be completed by the 10^th calendar day after the election, and final certified results are published by local officials.

On the 4^th Tuesday in November, the Secretary of State convenes a state-level canvass with a majority of Nevada State Supreme Court Justices. Once they certify the entire state’s vote counts from all counties, the results become final, though the results can still be contested within a limited timeframe.

Election deniers refusing to certify local election results

Certification should be straightforward and until 2020 usually occurred without controversy. Simply, the local officials’ job involves this type of dialog: “Here is how the people voted, and each candidate got this number of votes.” Then, local officials vote to certify the election results.

Since Donald Trump lost the presidential election in 2020, the Republican party has seen certification as an opportunity to complain to local officials about how elections are run and to air allegations of fraud. These Republican advocates have also encouraged and pressured local officials to officially refuse to certify their local election results.

To be clear, members of county election boards are not tasked with resolving election issues; certification is mandatory. Disputes over election issues are separate from the certification process. Disputes are investigated and adjudicated by district attorneys, state election boards, and in court.

Refusing to certify election results is a way MAGA Republicans can cast doubt on election integrity. An investigation by Rolling Stone identified at least 70 pro-Trump election conspiracists are currently deployed. As a result, county election officials have questioned the validity of elections or delayed or refused to certify results in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. These challenges of election results have worked in 22 cases where local officials have refused or delayed certification in recent past elections.

In Washoe County, Commissioners Michael Clark and Jeanne Herman have done it twice. They retreated only after the County Attorney and Secretary of State informed commissioners it was their legal duty to certify results. In Nevada, legal remedies to protect the certification process from “rogue election officials” include Mandamus relief (i.e., emergency court orders), the courts sanctioning or replacing county officials for failing to do their duty, and criminal penalties for subverting certification. At the federal level, a county official’s willful refusal to certify election results violates sections 11 (a) and 12 (c) of the Voting Rights Act.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) suggests that Secretary of States and Attorney Generals in every state put certifiers on notice now that it is not within their rights to obstruct certification. Across the country, the November election results will have to be certified in more than 3,000 counties, and all state results must be final by the time electors meet in each state on December 17.

Buckle-up, the ride is going to get bumpy

“The legal ground game that was brought to bear against certifying the election in 2020 was junior varsity compared to what we are going to see this year,” said Joshua Matz, a lawyer on the board of CREW. Trump and allies are expected to attack the certification process on the local level as part of an effort to contest losing the election.

They see refusal to certify anywhere—even in a county that Trump won— as the way to create vote-counting chaos and prevents certification in that state, which will in turn prevent certification of the 2024 presidential election.

What can you do to ensure that the election is certified?

Citizens have a role to play in making sure your county officials certify election results. First, contact your county supervisors or commissioners and ask whether they intend to certify election results without creating delays. This puts them on notice that their constituents expect them to do so.

The effort to create chaos may not stop with the 2024 election. Contact the candidates for county supervisor or commission on the 2024 election. Ask them whether they will follow the law in certifying election results. If they say no or don’t provide a definitive answer, write letters to the editor about how they responded. Do not vote for them, and tell your friends why you will not vote for them.

We have a free and fair election system that is the bedrock of our democracy. Antidemocratic forces want to change the rules and referees to change the results when they see fit. Be heard; don’t let them!

Summary

Main Point: Election deniers are deploying a strategy to delay and stop certification of the 2024 election. Their efforts are hitting close to home. They put their process to a test with the certification of the Primary election in Washoe County and relented only after legal pressure was brought to bear on the Washoe County Commissioners.

Good to Know:

• Certification of election votes is mandatory, according to the law.
• Trump and his allies see refusal to certify the election as a way to create chaos and prevent the certification of the 2024 Presidential election.
• You have a voice and a role to play. Call your County commissioners or supervisors. Ask their position in certifying the voting results. Publicize their answers. Do the same with people who are running for those positions in the 2024 election.