In the days and weeks following the 2020 election, partisans across the country used lies and deception to try to deceive the American people and steal the White House.
Although Joe Biden was clear and unambiguous winnermaking big profits in popular vote and electoral college84 fraudulent voters signed statements confirming Donald Trump won in seven battleground states.
He didn't.
electoral votes in question were nearly a third of the number needed to win the presidential election, and would be more than enough to reverse Biden's victory, giving Trump a second term. contrary to the wishes of the majority of voters.
For some, attempted election theft This is old (and well buried) news.
Events that have ended violent assault on the Capitol and the attempt to stop Biden from taking office happened half a decade ago, shovel holders might say, making them as relevant as those faded social distancing stickers you still see in some stores. Moreover, Trump was got second turn in the White House by a majority of voters in 2024.
But it's just old news if you believe it. justice and honesty have an expiration date, the offense is permissible if enough time has passed and the fundamental values of our country and its democracy are respected – starting with fair and honest elections — only matter to the extent that they help your political side prevail.
It bears repeating: “What we are talking about here is an attempt overturn the results of the presidential election“If people can do things like this without any consequences or accountability, then we have to worry about it happening again,” said Sean Morales-Doyle, who heads the voting rights and elections program at the Brennan Center for Justice, a law and policy think tank at New York University.
This is why punishment and deterrence are so important.
Last week, the Nevada Supreme Court unanimously reinstated the criminal case against six Republicans who signed certificates falsely claiming Trump won the state's electoral votes. Those charged include Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald and state representative for the Republican National Committee Jim DeGraffenreid.
The ruling focused on a procedural issue: whether the charges should be filed in Douglas County, where the false certificates were signed in the state capital of Carson City, or in Clark County, where they were filed at a courthouse in Las Vegas. The lower court ruled that the charges should have been filed in Douglas County and closed the case. The High Court overturned the decision, allowing the prosecution on the forgery charge to continue.
That's how it should be. Let the jury decide.
Of course, the Nevada Six and other fake electors are just small fry. The ringleader and chief attempted theft, Donald “Find Me, 11,780 Votes” Trump, escaped accountability by winning the 2024 election.
This month, he pardoned many fake voters and other individuals involved in the attempted election robbery, including his bumbling former lawyer Rudolph Giuliani – for any potential federal crimes. This step was purely symbolic; Trump's pardon power does not apply to cases brought in state courts.
But it was further evidence of his excessive contempt for the rule of law. (Hours after taking office, Trump pardoned about 1,600 defendants — including those who wielded police force with pepper spray, wood and metal poles — who participated in the attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.)
Efforts across the country to bring even these low-level schemers, fraudsters and fraudsters to justice in the 2020 election have had mixed results.
In Michigan the judge threw it out criminal case against 15 fraudulent voters, ruling that the government did not provide sufficient evidence that they intended to commit fraud.
IN New Mexico and Pennsylvania, fraudulent voters escaped prosecution because their certification was subject to a caveat. It noted that the documentation was provided in the event that they were recognized as legitimate voters. The issue became moot after Trump lost his fight to overturn the election, although some in Trump's circle hoped the fraudulent certifications would help put pressure on Pence.
Derek Mueller, a Notre Dame law professor, looks askance at many of the cases brought by prosecutors, suggesting that the ballot box, rather than the courtroom, may be the best place for a trial.
“There is a fine line between nuisance behavior and criminal behavior,” Mueller said. “I don’t have any easy answers about what things should or shouldn’t be prosecuted at any given time other than to say whether it’s something new” — as with the 2020 cases — “having a pretty ironclad legal theory is very important if you’re going to prosecute people for engaging in this kind of political protest activity.”
Other cases are ongoing.
Three false electors appointed preliminary hearing on forgery charges next month in Wisconsin. Fourteen defendants, including Giuliani and former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, face charges in Georgia. In ArizonaThe state attorney general is due to decide this week whether to pursue the case against 11 people after a judge threw out the indictment because of the way the case was presented to jurors.
Justice in 2020 election case was far from confident and fast. But this is not a reason to give up.
The penalty for hijacking an airplane is a minimum of 20 years in federal prison. This seems excessive for fake voters.
But dozens of attackers tried to disrupt the elections. They cannot be left unpunished.
