As we get closer to Election Day, more and more headlines warn that if Kamala Harris beats Donald Trump, Republicans will refuse to certify the results. But at least one journalist takes it a step further, reporting that MAGA plans to halt the election even before the final results are in if Harris is ahead.
"No need to worry about mayhem on January 6, 2025 when Congress meets in joint session; the election deniers plan to stop a result right away if it looks like Harris is winning," said A.B. Stoddard in yesterday's Bulwark article, "Get Ready Now: Republicans Will Refuse to Certify a Harris Win."
"Their goal: Refuse to certify anywhere—even a county that Trump won—and prevent certification in that state, which prevents certification of the presidential election," she continued.
So how would this work? Stoddard explains, citing last week's Rolling Stone article, "These Swing State Election Officials Are Pro-Trump Election Deniers." Although the headline alone pretty much sums it up, Stoddard expands:
An investigation by Rolling Stone identified "in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania . . . at least 70 pro-Trump election conspiracists currently working as county election officials who have questioned the validity of elections or delayed or refused to certify results." Of those 70, 22 of them already have "refused or delayed certification" in recent past elections. Nationwide, Republicans have refused to certify results at least 25 times since 2020, in eight states—the most in Georgia. …
Then there is this. Trump's self-destructive attacks on Georgia's popular governor made the headlines from his Atlanta rally last Saturday, but he also singled out for praise three little-known Georgians—Janice Johnston, Rick Jeffares, and Janelle King—calling them "pitbulls fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory."
Who are Johnston, Jeffares, and King? They are three of the five members of Georgia's State Election Board. Three days after Trump's speech, this past Tuesday, those three Republicans approved a new rule requiring a "reasonable inquiry" prior to election certification that—while vague and undefined—could be exploited to delay certification and threaten the statewide election certification deadline of November 22. …
Election experts say the new rule could disrupt the entire process across the state by allowing local partisans to reject results. And Georgia appears to be at the center of Trump's plans. Casting doubt on Fulton County, which makes up the bulk of Democratic votes in the state, will help him claim he won the Peach State as the rest of the results come in red.
And from today's Raw Story article, "MAGA has game plan to halt elections if Harris takes lead":
Stoddard warns that "there are more than enough such individuals in these key posts to bring us to a constitutional crisis."
"So Trump knows there are millions among us who believe him when he says Democrats can only win if they cheat and who believe dark forces are at work to thwart him again," Stoddard explains. "And Trump needs to be president again. He wants to get his criminal cases thrown out, and to stay out of jail. There is nothing he won't try."
"I think we are going to see mass refusals to certify the election," said American Democratic Party elections lawyer Marc Elias, via Rolling Stone. "Everything we are seeing about this election is that the other side is more organized, more ruthless, and more prepared."
Granted, the Rolling Stone article came out only a week after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, and since then the Democratic Party, with Kamala Harris at the helm of the race, seems more "organized, ruthless, and prepared" than it has been in a long time. Let's just hope it can keep up the momentum.
Previously: Texas AG on why he supports the Big Lie: "We're done in Texas if anyone can vote"
