Some U.S. states are threatening county and local government officials who may illegally interfere with the November 5th election or refuse to certify the results with criminal charges and high penalties for failing to comply with their duties. This sends a strong signal that they may be subject to a fine of
In at least five of the seven battleground states that could decide whether the next U.S. president is Democrat Kamala Harris or Republican Donald Trump, top election and law enforcement officials have attempted to disrupt or certify votes. Officials who tried to delay it were investigated, prosecuted, and even imprisoned. This is a necessary but largely ceremonial step.
County officials have also been warned that failure to certify results by the deadline could force local governments to pay for unnecessary audits and recounts.
The aim of the strengthened oversight of local election boards is to prevent the delay in certifying election results due to baseless claims of fraud, and the possibility that a highly partisan atmosphere could prevent Congress from certifying the presidential election results.
Four years after President Trump tried to overturn his 2020 defeat, officials in battleground states like Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, as well as heavily Democratic Colorado, are grappling with how to deal with those who overstepped their authority. said to be much more proficient. This is despite President Trump’s repeated false claims that the 2020 election was stolen and that he will lose in November due to fraud alone.
States that fail to certify their results by a certain deadline could be excluded from the state-by-state electoral process that officially determines the winner of the U.S. presidential election.
“The law is clear and we will not tolerate anyone who disobeys it for any reason," Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in an interview. “There is a time and a place to contest election results. The certification process is not among them.”
Pennsylvania, the largest of the battleground states in this high-stakes election, is in Luzerne County, where county officials tried to block the use of drop boxes where early voters could drop off their mail. It has already overturned the claims of Chief Romilda Crocamo. on the ballot.
State Attorney General Michelle Henry, a former Republican who was appointed to the job by the state’s Democratic governor last year, said in an interview that the state’s attorney general enforces election laws.
“If someone does not comply with the statute, we will investigate it and there will be consequences… There are both criminal and civil actions that may be taken to maintain the integrity of the process.”
In Wisconsin, the state Department of Justice’s criminal division is investigating Wausau Mayor Doug Deeney for allegedly removing an empty, locked mailbox from outside City Hall in September. Dinney, an independent conservative backed by Republicans, told reporters at the time that he did not feel the boxes placed by city workers were in a safe location.
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) also said his office would enforce election laws.
“We expect election officials to follow the law,” Kaul said in an interview. “But if we have concerns that this may not be the case, we are prepared to act.”
In Macomb County, Michigan, where Republicans unsuccessfully sued to overturn the 2020 election results, three St. Clair Shores assistant city clerks voted against two out of four residents in the Aug. 6 state general election and state primary. He is facing a felony charge for allegedly allowing multiple votes to be counted.
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Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, filed charges against all seven men, which carry penalties of up to five years in prison and fines.
“Despite common talking points from those who seek to cast doubt on our electoral process, double voting in Michigan is extremely rare,” Nessel said in a statement. “Nonetheless, the fact that four incidents occurred in a municipality of this size raises serious concerns.”
Michigan’s election laws were strengthened in the aftermath of 2020.
Delta County Canvassers Bonnie Hakkora and LeeAnne Oman, both Republicans, opposed certification of the local recall election on May 14 after the vote margins were nearly the same in three different races. I cast my vote.
State officials responded two days later with a scathing letter. The two ultimately resigned. The results have been certified.
Meanwhile, two Republican officials in Cochise County, Arizona, are facing felony election interference charges for allegedly delaying voting in the 2022 election.
And in Nevada, the secretary of state, attorney general and district attorney recently stepped in to quickly resolve an impasse over counties certifying their primary election results.
One of the most notable examples is Colorado, where Republican former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters was sentenced this month to nine years in prison after being found guilty of illegally tampering with voting machines in 2020. It was.
