With the November presidential election just months away, a large swath of Donald Trump allies already have in place plans to contest results in multiple states which will lead to chaos before Congress attempts to certify the election results.
Noting that the former president's supporters approached contesting his loss in a haphazard way following the 2020 election that culminated in an assault on U.S. Capitol, the Times is reporting they have a detailed roadmap for pushing back this time should Trump lose again.
As the Times' Jim Rutenberg and Nick Corasaniti report, "The campaign involves a powerful network of Republican lawyers and activist groups, working loosely in concert with the Republican National Committee," adding, "unlike the chaotic and improvised challenge four years ago, the new drive includes a systematic search for any vulnerability in the nation’s patchwork election system."
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The Heritage Foundation's Mike Howell made it clear this week that conservatives feel they'll have to push back at the election results, bluntly stating, "As things stand right now, there’s zero chance of a free and fair election. I’m formally accusing the Biden administration of creating the conditions that most reasonable policymakers and officials cannot in good conscience certify an election.”
The Times report notes, "Democrats, civil rights lawyers and even some Republicans say that the threat is clear: Even if the cases fail, Mr. Trump’s allies are building excuses to dispute the results, while trying to empower thousands of local election officials to disrupt the process. Already, election board members in several states have moved to block certification of primary election tallies, including in a major swing county in Nevada last week."
Republican election expert Ben Ginsberg warned, "The fundamental principle of the system — the rule of law, the finality of the results, the ability to challenge an election but then accept the results if the challenges fail — is being stood on its head”
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