We saw election denialism in 2020 when local officials refused to certify the election. Since more than two dozen local officials around the nation have refused to certify federal elections in recent years, we could have a problem. However, election experts say officials in swing states are ready to shut down attempts to deny certification.
Most Americans are done with the chaos and violence that ensued after Joe Biden defeated Donald J. Trump. Still, this time, using Nevada as an example, the conspiracy-laden denialism won't work.
NPR reports:
Washoe County is home to about half a million people and abuts Lake Tahoe. The county seat, Reno, calls itself "The Biggest Little City in the World," and is ringed by snow-capped mountains this time of year. Back in July, the Washoe County commissioners voted 3-2 against certifying the recounts of two primary election results.
No one here could recall local officials denying certification in Nevada before. Certifying elections is simply a clerical duty with no discretion about how to vote, according to the Nevada Secretary of State's office. Any concerns about election results can be taken to court.
But several of the Washoe Commissioners said they were concerned about the way the election had been handled.
"I'm not going to co-sign for this," Commissioner Mike Clark, a Republican, said at the time during a public meeting. "I'm not going to say how great it was because I don't believe it."
U.S. President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address during a joint meeting of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol on March 7.
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Members of the public, many of them election deniers, also attended the meeting and claimed there was a conspiracy."Our elections have been hijacked by someone or something," said Robert Beadles, an election denier who has given more than $800,000 to GOP candidates over the past two years. "You can't certify this recount."
In fact, for all the concerns about the primary election's accuracy in Washoe, the recount found a difference of just two votes in the two races.
You don't say. That's not going to happen this time.
Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, said he was shocked the commissioners refused to certify but was prepared. He told NPR he had prefiled legal documents and then just filled in the specifics of the case. "I call it our 'Mad Libs,'" Aguilar said.
Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford filed suit against the three commissioners who voted against certification. A week later, at a commissioners meeting, Clark and fellow Commissioner Clara Andriola changed their votes to certify. "I have been told that a failure to vote to certify this election can subject me to criminal prosecution and forfeiture of office," Clark said during the meeting. "As such, my vote today is being made under extreme duress."
That poor punkin'. He feels "under extreme duress" just for doing his job. Donald loves chaos, but Americans, to borrow a phrase, are ready to 'turn the page.'
Nikhel Sus, deputy chief counsel with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, sees the Washoe case as an encouraging sign for the nation as voting in the 2024 election ends today. He said it shows that attorneys general have the will and tools to ensure certification.
“It is something that should be highlighted to voters because voters' confidence should not be diminished,” Sus said. “These efforts [to not certify] are not going to work. They have not worked historically, and they aren’t going to work this time.”
I'm totally not nervous about the election. By the way, is it 5 o'clock yet?
