More than a dozen Republican officials are accused of signing false certificates claiming that Donald Trump won their states’ electoral votes in the 2020 election as voters on Tuesday, this time casting real votes for the president-elect.
Thirteen alleged “false electors” will be thrown out Electoral College votes In Pennsylvania, Nevada and Michigan, some recent election officials still face criminal charges.
As part of a process enshrined in the Constitution and local laws, presidential electors across the country gather on Tuesday to cast Electoral College votes to seal Trump’s victory. Trump has been projected For 312 electoral votes, Vice President Kamala Harris is projected to get 226.
In this Jan. 27, 2024, file photo, Nevada Rep. Michael McDonald, right, shakes hands with former Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign event in Las Vegas.
John Locher/AP, FILE
When the same process happened four years ago, with President Joe Biden by 306 electoral votes, Trump and his allies allegedly orchestrated fake voter rolls in a scheme to nullify elections in seven states, according to a federal indictment accusing Trump. because of his behavior. The president-elect has denied wrongdoing, and the case has been filed.
Mimicking the procedures followed by legitimate voters, the fake voters met on the same day as the real voters, but allegedly signed fake certificates declaring Trump the winner. Some of the voters allegedly signed fake certificates to influence the results, while others were misled by Trump and his allies, who said the certificates would only be used if Trump’s lawsuits alleging widespread voter fraud were successful.
In this Dec. 18, 2023, file photo, Republican Rep. James Hindle III, top left, Shawn Meehan, James DeGraffenreld, bottom left, Jessie Law, Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald, right, and Eileen Rice, not pictured, stand in the distance. for an initial hearing at the Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Review-Journal/TNS via Getty Images, FILE
To determine the overlap, ABC News reviewed fake 2020 voter certifications issued by state parties or state election offices with current voter rolls.
In Nevada, two fake voters, both of whom were indicted on charges of falsely declaring Trump the winner of the 2020 Nevada election, took part as voters on Tuesday.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford last week refiled charges against six Republican voter fraud after a judge dismissed the original case over a local issue.
In Michigan, six of the so-called 2020 caucuses returned to cast their ballots on Tuesday. They have them all He pleaded not guilty to the criminal charges filed against them.
The returning electors are facing felony charges related to the 2020 scheme and are awaiting a judge to decide whether the case will go to trial. All have pleaded not guilty.
In Pennsylvania, the five fake voters in the 2024 presidential election are also people who signed up in 2020. No criminal charges have been filed against the fake voters in Pennsylvania.
In this file photo, a person holds a certificate of voting from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania during a joint session of Congress after protests at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, January 7, 2021.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
Rex VanMiddlesworth, a constitutional law expert and board member of the nonpartisan civic education and election group Keep Our Republic, told ABC News that the turnout of so-called fake voters may reflect the current state of the Republican Party.
“I think the belief that the election was stolen in 2020 is a testament to how entrenched it is in the Republican Party, so it’s not a disqualifier in the party. If anything, it’s a badge of honor in the party that he stood up and fought the results of the 2020 election,” he said.
After Biden was declared the winner in 2020, Trump introduced him lawsuits in various warring states trying to overturn the results of the elections, arguing that the elections were “stolen”. However, despite his claims that the results of the 2020 election were challenged in court prove that baseless
VanMiddlesworth, who co-chairs the organization’s anti-subversion task force, said there are relatively limited requirements to be a voter and there are likely no legal challenges against returning voters, even those who hold office. He also emphasized that the Law on the Reform of Electoral Numbers and the Improvement of the Presidential Transition approved in 2022 has made the process of the Electoral College much clearer and, to a certain extent, has helped make the certification process easier this year.
“The electorate’s job is to vote for what their state voted for,” VanMiddlesworth said. “Honestly, their identity shouldn’t affect that and it shouldn’t matter.”
He added that “this year there is nothing wrong with what they are doing”, because their states will vote properly for whom they have voted.
Prosecutors in Georgia, Nevada, Arizona, and Wisconsin filed criminal charges against some of the fake elected officials, though many cases were moot.
The criminal case against Trump and several defendants in Georgia, including three false elected officials, has been on hold since June while the appeals court considers the former president’s appeal of Judge Scott McAfee’s decision not to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis over her relationship with a prosecutor. . The judge overseeing the Arizona voter fraud case recused himself after telling fellow judges to respond to attacks on Vice President Kamala Harris. The Nevada voter fraud case was dropped earlier this year due to a local issue, although the state attorney general re-litigated the case in another county.
