Editorial: Trump fired me for saying the election wasn’t hacked. I’ll say it again. | The Washington Post

On Nov. 17, I was dismissed as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, a Senate-confirmed post, in a tweet from President Trump after my team and other election security experts rebutted claims of hacking in the 2020 election. On Monday, a lawyer for the president’s campaign plainly stated that I should be executed. I am not going to be intimidated by these threats from telling the truth to the American people. Three years ago, I left a comfortable private-sector job to join, in the spirit of public service, the Department of Homeland Security. At the time, the national security community was reeling from the fallout of the brazen Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. I wanted to help. Across the nation’s security agencies, there was universal acknowledgment that such foreign election interference could not be allowed to happen again. The mission was clear: Defend democracy and protect U.S. elections from threats foreign and domestic. With the advantage of time to prepare for the 2020 election, we got to work. My team at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, had primary responsibility for working with state and local election officials and the private sector to secure their election infrastructure — including the machines, equipment and systems supporting elections — from hacking. (Other agencies handle fraud or other criminal election-related activity.) The Russian assault in 2016 had not included hacking voting machines, but we couldn’t be sure that Moscow or some other bad actor wouldn’t try it in 2020.

Full Article: Opinion | Christopher Krebs: Trump fired me for saying the election wasn’t hacked. I’ll say it again. – The Washington Post

Arizona: Trump blasts Ducey over election certification, says he betrayed Arizonans | Jeremy Duda/Arizona Mirror

After years of loyal support for President Donald Trump, Gov. Doug Ducey became the latest target of the president’s ire after certifying Arizona’s 2020 general election results, including former Vice President Joe Biden’s historic win in the traditional conservative stronghold of Arizona. Trump on Monday afternoon retweeted a comment declaring that Ducey “has betrayed the people of Arizona,” adding his own commentary, “TRUE!” That comment came just after another tweet in which Trump chastised Ducey for “rushing” to sign the statewide election canvass. He retweeted a comment noting that the certification of Arizona’s election results allow Democratic Senator-elect Mark Kelly, who defeated Republican U.S. Sen. Martha McSally, to be sworn in immediately. Kelly will be sworn in on Wednesday, narrowing the GOP’s advantage in the Senate to 52-48. His swearing-in comes earlier than other Senate contest winners from the general election because his race was a special election to fill the final two years of the term John McCain was elected to in 2016. “Why is he rushing to put a Democrat in office, especially when so many horrible things concerning voter fraud are being revealed at the hearing going on right now. @OANN What is going on with @dougducey? Republicans will long remember!” the president tweeted, referring to One America News Network, an avowedly pro-Trump cable network that he often praises. State law mandates that the secretary of state, governor, attorney general and Arizona Supreme Court chief justice certify the canvass on the fourth Monday after the general election.

Full Article: Trump blasts Ducey over election certification, says he betrayed Arizonans

Arkansas Begins 2020 Election-Audit Pilot Program | Nadia Ramlagan/KUAF

As President Donald Trump continues to insist the presidential election was marred by what he has called “massive voter fraud” that resulted in a win for President-elect Joe Biden, more states and counties are implementing election auditing procedures. Experts say audits are a crucial element of election oversight, but the general public may not be familiar with the process. Tammy Patrick, senior advisor with the group Democracy Fund, said there are different kinds of audits for different purposes, but any of them can be helpful. “If you wanted to know if the poll workers made an error, what kind of audit would you think about doing? A reconciliation audit. If you wanted to know if the machine or machines counted or worked correctly, quite often it’s a hand-count audit,” Patrick said. “And if you want to know, like, was the correct winner called, that’s where the risk-limiting audit comes into play.” Under a law that went into effect in 2019, Arkansas state officials have 60 days to begin auditing general election results in at least four counties. To complete the audit, the State Board of Election Commissioners will select the polling sites, early voting locations and vote centers to be audited.

Full Article: Arkansas Begins 2020 Election-Audit Pilot Program | KUAF

Georgia official calls on Trump to stop attacks on election workers | Benjamin Freed/StateScoop

A Georgia election official said during an impassioned press conference Tuesday that President Donald Trump and the state’s two U.S. senators’ attacks on voting systems have made them “complicit” in a rising tide of harassment and death threats against election workers. In remarks that lasted about four minutes, Gabriel Sterling, the voting systems implementation manager in the office of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, said “the straw that broke the camel’s back” was a series of social-media threats since Monday against a “20-something” technician working for Dominion Voting Systems, which supplies Georgia’s voting equipment and has been the subject of baseless conspiracy theories promoted by Trump and his team of lawyers. The technician, who had been assisting local officials in the Atlanta suburb of Gwinnett County, began receiving threats after footage of him circulated on far-right social media on Monday. Sterling, a former local elected official who describes himself as a conservative, and Raffensperger, a Republican elected in 2018, have also received days’ worth of harassment and threats from people urging them to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in Georgia in the Nov. 3 election, which has already undergone one automatic hand recount and is in the process of completing a machine recount as requested by the Trump campaign. Sterling also said that protesters have gathered outside Raffensperger’s house and also harassed the secretary’s wife.

Full Article: Georgia official calls on Trump to stop attacks on election workers

Georgia State Senate panels to review election integrity | David Wickert and James Salzer/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Senate Committee on Government Oversight will meet Thursday “to evaluate the election process to ensure the integrity of Georgia’s voting process,” several Senate leaders announced Tuesday. Senate Majority Whip Steve Gooch, R-Dahlonega, said Republican legislators want to begin looking at possible changes to state election laws that may be considered during the 2021 session, which begins in January. “We have to start today on election reform in Georgia,” Gooch said during a call into a North Georgia talk show, BKP Politics. Gooch said “reform” would likely mean making changes to absentee voting, which Democrats used extensively and President Donald Trump disparaged. The subcommittee on Thursday will also hear from Trump backers who have blamed fraud for his loss.

Full Article: Senate panels to review Georgia election integrity

Michigan hearing puts spotlight on unproven claims of election fraud | Craig Mauger/The Detroit News

Michigan lawmakers spent more than six hours Tuesday probing for evidence of wrongdoing in the presidential election as unproven claims of fraud flew from Republican poll challengers who monitored vote-counting in Democratic-heavy Detroit. With supporters of President Donald Trump chanting outside the meeting room’s windows, the Senate Oversight Committee provided the most visible platform yet in Michigan for Republicans who have raised concerns about the way the election was administered. The spotlight will continue Wednesday as the president’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, appears before the state House Oversight Committee. Trump tweeted several clips of Tuesday’s Michigan hearing as it continued. At one point, he posted, “Michigan voter fraud hearing going on now!” More than five hours into the meeting, Bill Schmidt of Livonia, who described himself as a lifelong Republican before this year’s election, said he served as a poll challenger at TCF Center, where Detroit’s absentee ballots were counted. Schmidt said he saw mistakes but not fraud. There was a lot of confusion at TCF Center, and people who were told there would be fraud occurring were predisposed to see it, he said. “Evil can be seen by evil people,” Schmidt said after he testified. “Good people see goodness. What I saw is, I saw hardworking people working hard,” he continued. “That’s what I saw. That’s America. That’s democracy.”

Full Article: Michigan hearing puts spotlight on unproven claims of election fraud

Nevada: Presidential campaigns to examine Clark County voting equipment | Rory Appleton/Las Vegas Review-Journal

A Carson City district court judge will allow attorneys for President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and President-elect Joe Biden’s Nevada electors to inspect test results from Clark County voting equipment on Tuesday. Judge James T. Russell granted a motion from Trump’s campaign on Monday, following a Nevada state law that allows both parties to inspect a sealed container of test results and reports for the equipment used in the contested election, in this case the Nov. 3 general election. The defendants, a slate of electors set to formally cast Nevada’s six electoral college votes for Biden later this month, did not oppose the order. Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin said the county also did not oppose the request, and election officials are accommodating the 1 p.m. Tuesday deadline set by the judge. Trump referenced the order in a tweet Monday night, saying the judge “has ordered Clark County officials to allow an inspection of the elections equipment and sealed containers used in the 2020 election by 1:00 P.M. tomorrow.”

Full Article: Presidential campaigns to examine Clark County voting equipment | Las Vegas Review-Journal

New Jersey: Routine vote audit becomes historic this year | Jeff Pillets/NJ Spotlight News

A team of 60 Bergen County election workers gathered in Paramus on Monday to make one more big lift in this year’s mostly mail-in election — an unprecedented exercise that tested the patience of New Jersey voters and vote canvassers alike. Seated at folding tables, the election workers spent most of the day in silent concentration, poring over 10,000 to 12,000 ballots, eyeballing every one in a hand count designed to be one last safety check on the election of 2020. Scenes like the one in Bergen County are playing out across New Jersey this week as county officials complete a state-mandated audit of the record 4.5 million votes cast in the general election. State law requires each county board of election to check a random sample of votes —roughly, about 2% of all ballots submitted. And although the process continues, officials in Bergen and elsewhere say it has thus far revealed no anomalies in the official counts of ballots cast by voters. On the surface, the vote audit is just another obscure administrative ritual that might pass without notice. But this year’s version is truly a bit of history: Experts say this is New Jersey’s first statewide voting audit of its kind in more than a century.

Full Article: Routine vote audit becomes historic in NJ this year | NJ Spotlight News

North Carolina Republicans Calling For Change To State Board Of Elections | Coleen Harry/WFAE

The 2020 general election is notable in many ways. Turnout was a record 75% in North Carolina. A little more than 1 million people voted by mail-in ballots. But it could be the election that prompts state lawmakers to change who’s in charge of administering future elections. As co-chair of the N.C. Senate Elections Committee, Sen. Paul Newton, intends to propose an oversight board for the State Board of Elections. “I think we’re going to be looking at an oversight board that examines the Board of Elections to make sure they’re following the law,” said Newton, a Republican who represents parts of Cabarrus and Union counties. He said the State Board of Elections sidestepped the legislature in August when it signed off on a settlement that gave a six-day extension to how long mail-in ballots would be accepted. Instead of a Nov. 6 deadline, the board agreed ballots could be accepted until Nov. 12 as long as they were postmarked by Election Day, Nov. 3. “An elections board does not have the power to change state law. It shouldn’t,” Newton said. “Do we pass a law that says you need to follow the law? Well, in a sense, that’s what we’re left with.” The General Assembly approved the Nov. 6 date in June as part of legislation that made several accommodations to deal with the pandemic, including making it easier to vote with mail-in ballots. The legislation was lauded as an example of compromise between Democrats and Republicans.

Full Article: NC Republicans Calling For Change To State Board Of Elections | WFAE 90.7 – Charlotte’s NPR News Source

Pennsylvania: Trump allies ask Supreme Court to reverse ruling on mail-in ballots | Robert Barnes and Elise Viebeck/The Washington Post

President Trump’s allies said Tuesday that they have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block a decision by Pennsylvania’s highest court dismissing a challenge of the state’s mail-in voting system. The lawsuit is one of many protesting the results in the swing state’s elections, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Saturday said that the suit’s “extraordinary” request to throw out millions of ballots came too late. The Republican lawsuit challenged Act 77, the 2019 statute in Pennsylvania that allows voters to cast mail ballots for any reason. Their argument is that the law, passed by the Republican-led legislature and signed by the state’s Democratic governor, violated the state constitution’s requirements on who could receive a mail-in ballot. Trump’s allies asked the state court to invalidate all votes cast by mail in the general election — more than 2.5 million in total — or direct the state legislature to appoint its own slate of presidential electors. The state Supreme Court dismissed the case on Saturday, ruling that petitioners waited more than a year to sue, and only then after the results of the election were clear. “The want of due diligence demonstrated in this matter is unmistakable,” the justices wrote, noting that some of the petitioners included candidates for office who had urged supporters to cast their ballots by mail.

Full Article: Trump allies ask Supreme Court to reverse Pennsylvania ruling on mail-in ballots – The Washington Post

Texas GOP lawmakers target voter fraud, despite no proof of widespread problem | Karen Brooks Harper/The Texas Tribune

Fresh off a presidential election replete with accusations of election malfeasance but devoid of evidence of widespread fraud in Texas, local Republican leaders say the state needs more laws to protect the integrity of the state’s elections. To that end, GOP state lawmakers are heading into the next state legislative session with a fistful of anti-fraud bills aimed at an issue that experts — and even some conservatives — acknowledge isn’t much of a problem in the Lone Star State. Nearly a dozen pieces of legislation, all of them filed by Republicans, take aim at mail-in balloting, illegal voting and misbehaving elections officials — inspired by events and talking points from the previous election cycle. “Filing legislation that will prevent voter fraud ensures that we have fair elections,” said Rep. Briscoe Cain, R-Deer Park, a member of the House Elections Committee last session and author of several anti-fraud bills. “If people do not trust in the electoral process, they will not trust those who are elected.” Texas Democrats, who are focusing their efforts on legislation to expand voter access, counter that the bills are being filed as a way to sow mistrust in the process or make it harder to register and vote.

Full Article: Texas GOP lawmakers target voter fraud, despite no proof of widespread problem | The Texas Tribune

Wisconsin: GOP candidate says he was used without permission as a plaintiff in lawsuit to overturn election results | Molly Beck/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

A Republican candidate for Congress who lost his election on Nov. 3 says his name is being used without permission as a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit to make President Donald Trump the winner of Wisconsin’s presidential election, despite receiving fewer votes than President-elect Joe Biden. Derrick Van Orden, who narrowly lost to U.S. Rep. Ron Kind, said Tuesday he learned through social media posts about the lawsuit that his name was being used. “I learned through social media today that my name was included in a lawsuit without my permission,” Van Orden said in a statement. “To be clear, I am not involved in the lawsuit seeking to overturn the election in Wisconsin.” Former Trump attorney Sidney Powell filed a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday on behalf of Van Orden and La Crosse County Republican Party chairman Bill Feehan. The suit seeks, among other relief, a new election for Van Orden and wants Gov. Tony Evers to certify the election for Trump instead of Biden. Powell and Feehan did not return phone calls.

Full Article: GOP candidate says he was used without permission as a plaintiff in lawsuit to overturn Wisconsin election results

Wisconsin: Trump sues to try to reverse election results | Patrick Marley and Molly Beck/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

President Donald Trump sued Wisconsin officials Tuesday in a last-ditch effort to reclaim a state he lost by about 20,700 votes. The Republican president filed his suit against Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and election officials a day after the governor and the head of the state Elections Commission certified Joe Biden had won the state’s 10 Electoral College votes. Trump has made little headway with lawsuits in other states and he faces an extraordinarily difficult path in Wisconsin. Time is running short. Under the federal “safe harbor” law, the results determined by the state will be respected if challenges to the outcome are resolved by Dec. 8. The Electoral College meets on Dec. 14, and Congress is to count the electoral votes on Jan. 6. Even if Trump changed the outcome in Wisconsin, Biden would remain on track to be sworn in next month because of his victories in other states. Wisconsin law says challenges to election results are to be brought in circuit court, but Trump filed his lawsuit with the state Supreme Court, where conservatives hold a 4-3 majority. The justices did not immediately say whether they would take the case. Trump is asking the high court to revoke Evers’ certification of the election and revive a partial recount of votes in Milwaukee and Dane counties, the most populous and liberal counties in the state. Trump paid $3 million for that recount, but the process ended up worsening his losing margin by dozens of votes.

Full Article: Trump sues to try to reverse Wisconsin’s election results

 

Wisconsin: Trump sues to try to reverse election results | Patrick Marley and Molly Beck/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

President Donald Trump sued Wisconsin officials Tuesday in a last-ditch effort to reclaim a state he lost by about 20,700 votes. The Republican president filed his suit against Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and election officials a day after the governor and the head of the state Elections Commission certified Joe Biden had won the state’s 10 Electoral College votes. Trump has made little headway with lawsuits in other states and he faces an extraordinarily difficult path in Wisconsin. Time is running short. Under the federal “safe harbor” law, the results determined by the state will be respected if challenges to the outcome are resolved by Dec. 8. The Electoral College meets on Dec. 14, and Congress is to count the electoral votes on Jan. 6. Even if Trump changed the outcome in Wisconsin, Biden would remain on track to be sworn in next month because of his victories in other states. Wisconsin law says challenges to election results are to be brought in circuit court, but Trump filed his lawsuit with the state Supreme Court, where conservatives hold a 4-3 majority. The justices told Evers to file a brief on the lawsuit by 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, signaling they want to decide quickly whether to take the case.

Full Article: Trump sues to try to reverse Wisconsin’s election results

National: Chris Krebs fiercely defends election while President Trump’s attacks on it get weirder | Joseph Marks/The Washington Post

Christopher Krebs last night offered a cool, rational defense of the election’s integrity in his first interview since President Trump fired him as the nation’s top election security official.  It was a stark contrast with President Trump, whose attacks on the 2020 contest are becoming increasingly fantastical. Krebs, who led the government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, gave “60 Minutes” interviewer Scott Pelley a point-by-point refutation of the unfounded election fraud claims made by Trump and his allies, which he called “nonsense” and “farcical.” Those baseless claims include a conspiracy theory positing that Democrats operated a secret algorithm changing how machines recorded votes on an extensive scale and that votes were mysteriously tabulated overseas. Krebs’s bottom line: Such fraud claims fail the smell test because, as of 2020, there are paper records for 95 percent of ballots cast by American voters. And hand counts of those ballots in Georgia, Wisconsin and elsewhere show no significant difference between what was tabulated by machines. “The proof is in the ballots,” he said. “The recounts are consistent with the initial count. To me that’s further evidence, that’s confirmation that the systems used in the 2020 election performed as expected and the American people should have 100 percent confidence in their votes.” That’s been a consistent message for Krebs, who has trumpeted the importance of paper ballots and post-election audits as vital protections against election hacking or other malfeasance for more than three years. Trump, by contrast, has  frequently shifted his claims about election fraud depending on where he thinks he can gain an edge.

Full Article: The Cybersecurity 202: Chris Krebs fiercely defends election while President Trump’s attacks on it get weirder – The Washington Post

 

Judge: ‘Precious little proof’ in Georgia election fraud suit | Josh Gerstein/Politico

A judge handling an election-fraud lawsuit brought by allies of President Donald Trump said the case was backed by “precious little proof,” but went on to issue a restraining order aimed at blocking three Georgia counties from making any changes to their voting machines as he considers whether to permit a forensic examination of those systems, according to court records. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Batten Sr. made the comments during an hour-long Sunday night court hearing on a lawsuit filed last week by Sidney Powell, a firebrand attorney who briefly joined Trump’s legal team in recent weeks before being dismissed from it. The hearing was held via Zoom and not announced in advance on the court’s docket or accessible to the press or public, but it was transcribed by a court reporter who provided the transcript to POLITICO on Monday evening. The transcript shows that Batten repeatedly wavered on whether to grant any relief to the Republican plaintiffs in the case, before settling on the narrow relief limited to three counties. Powell and her colleagues initially wanted all voting machines in the state impounded pending further court action, but the state’s lawyers said that would present a slew of problems, including preventing some local elections set for this week and potentially interfering with the pair of U.S. Senate runoff elections set for Jan. 5. “What the plaintiffs are seeking is basically going to take certain voting equipment out of the equation for the election scheduled to take place this Tuesday, as well as the election scheduled to take place on January 5th, because plaintiffs are wanting us to hold and basically mothball and preserve these machines at the county level — not in our possession, not in our custody and control,” Assistant Attorney General Russ Willard Sr. told Batten.

Full Article: Judge: ‘Precious little proof’ in Georgia election fraud suit – POLITICO

 

Trump campaign lawyer says former cybersecurity chief should be ‘shot’ | Matthew Choi/Politico

An attorney for President Donald Trump’s reelection efforts said on Monday that Chris Krebs, the former head of U.S. cybersecurity, should be “shot” for going against the president’s conspiracy theories and declaring the 2020 elections as secure. “Anybody who thinks the election went well, like that idiot Krebs who used to be the head of cybersecurity,” said Trump campaign lawyer Joe DiGenova, “that guy is a class A moron. He should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot.” DiGenova made the remarks on a Monday episode of the “The Howie Carr Show,” which has a history of showcasing Trump’s claims and allies. During the show, DiGenova also listed a number of allegations of mass election irregularities — a phenomenon that elections officials in states across the country agreed was not an issue — in his team’s improbable effort to extend the Trump presidency. Trump fired Krebs nearly two weeks ago after the former director of the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency attested that the 2020 elections were among the safest in history. The president, whose personnel decisions have a record of being weighted by his perception of loyalty, fired Krebs by tweet, insisting that the election had been stolen from him.

Full Artidle: Trump campaign lawyer says former cybersecurity chief should be ‘shot’ – POLITICO

 

National: Amber McReynolds, CEO of national voting institute, receives threats since election | Caroline Gregor/9News

The CEO of Vote From Home Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to expanding convenient voting options for all voters, and former Denver Elections director, Amber McReynolds, has received disturbing threats on social media since the Nov. 3 election. McReynolds said the majority of these threats have come from people on Twitter. “Social media is definitely the place where a lot of this happens,” McReynolds said. “That’s not different than cyber bullying and some other tactics where these platforms, that were supposed to bring people together, are used for nefarious purposes and to target individuals.” McReynolds was an elections official in Denver for 13 years, and served as director of elections from 2011 to 2018. In 2018, she left the Denver Elections office to head up the Vote From Home Institute. There, she works on policy design with all states to improve the voting experience across the country, such as implementation of vote by mail expansions. She said that she, as well as other election workers across the state and country, have received threats relating to conspiracy theories about this year’s election. The clerk and recorder in Jefferson County said they have received more threats than usual this year. Denver, Boulder and La Plata counties clerk and recorders have all said they haven’t received any threats.

Full Article: CEO of national voting institute receives threats since election | 9news.com

 

National: Trump raises more than $150 million appealing to false election claims | Josh Dawsey and Michelle Ye Hee LeeThe Washington Post

President Trump’s political operation has raised more than $150 million since Election Day, using a blizzard of misleading appeals about the election to shatter fundraising records set during the campaign, according to people with knowledge of the contributions. The influx of political donations is one reason Trump and some allies are inclined to continue a legal onslaught and public affairs blitz focused on baseless claims of election fraud, even as their attempts have repeatedly failed in court and as key states continue to certify wins for President-elect Joe Biden. Much of the money raised since the election is likely to go into an account for the president to use on political activities after he leaves office, while some of the contributions will go toward what’s left of the legal fight. The people with knowledge of the fundraising amounts spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose internal numbers. The Trump campaign declined to comment. The surge of donations is largely from small-dollar donors, campaign officials say, tapping into the president’s base of loyal and fervent donors who tend to contribute the most when they feel the president is under siege or facing unfair political attacks. The campaign has sent about 500 post-election fundraising pitches to donors, often with hyperbolic language about voter fraud and the like.

Full Article: Trump raises more than $150 million appealing to false election claims – The Washington Post

 

National: Trump Raises $170 Million as He Denies His Loss and Eyes the Future | Shane Goldmacher and Maggie Haberman/The New York Times

President Trump has raised about $170 million since Election Day as his campaign operation has continued to aggressively solicit donations with hyped-up appeals that have funded his fruitless attempts to overturn the election and that have seeded his post-presidential political ambitions, according to a person familiar with the matter. The money, much of which was raised in the first week after the election, according to the person, has arrived as Mr. Trump has made false claims about fraud and sought to undermine public confidence in the legitimacy of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory. Instead of slowing down after the election, Mr. Trump’s campaign has ratcheted up its volume of email solicitations for cash, telling supporters that money was needed for an “Election Defense Fund.” In reality, the fine print shows that the first 75 percent of every contribution currently goes to a new political action committee that Mr. Trump set up in mid-November, Save America, which can be used to fund his political activities going forward, including staff and travel. The other 25 percent of each donation is directed to the Republican National Committee. A donor has to give $5,000 to Mr. Trump’s new PAC before any funds go to his recount account.

Full Article: Trump Raises $170 Million as He Denies His Loss and Eyes the Future – The New York Times

 

National: Wisconsin and Arizona make it official as Trump fails to stop vote certification in all six states where he contested his defeat | Amy Gardner, Emma Brown and Rosalind S. Helderman/The Washington Post

Wisconsin and Arizona on Monday became the last two of six states where President Trump has contested his defeat to finalize their vote counts, dealing a fresh blow to his quest to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory as a chorus of Republicans and Democrats offered support for the election’s integrity. Trump and his allies vowed to continue pressing legal claims challenging the election results in several states, but such efforts have met with resounding failures in the courts across the country. Monday’s certifications brought to a close a key period in which Trump and his advisers had said they would be able to derail Biden’s win. Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs (D) certified her state’s election results alongside the Republican governor and attorney general. Several hours later, the Democratic chairwoman of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, Ann Jacobs, completed her state’s canvass and declared Biden the winner of the state’s 10 electoral votes, a declaration that Democratic Gov. Tony Evers promptly certified. Their actions brought Biden one step closer to an official victory on Dec. 14, when the electoral college meets. While Trump has kept up a stream of baseless claims that the election was corrupted by fraud, a growing number of state officials on both sides of the aisle pushed back against that notion.

Full Article: Wisconsin and Arizona make it official as Trump fails to stop vote certification in all six states where he contested his defeat – The Washington Post

 

National: Former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell still pushing conspiracy-filled election lawsuits | Olivia Rubin and Matthew Mosk/ABC

Sidney Powell may no longer be part of President Donald Trump’s officially sanctioned legal team, but the veteran litigator who has become a champion of unfounded global conspiracy theories has not slowed in her effort to persuade the federal court system to reverse the outcome of the 2020 elections. “We will prevail,” Powell wrote on Twitter this week. “Patriots are united like never before to shine the light of Truth across our land.” Since filing a suit in Georgia last week, Powell has added a federal lawsuit in Michigan and plans another in Wisconsin, according to another lawyer on the team. Each case alleges a complex plot involving shadowy foreign interests, the company that sells electronic voting machines, Republican elected officials, and Democratic poll workers — all allegedly in cahoots to steal the election from Trump. The effort has garnered Powell public praise from Trump and turned her into a heroine in the conspiratorial corners of the internet. It has also garnered ridicule from officials in both parties, with longtime Trump ally Chris Christie calling the legal effort a “national embarrassment.” Aides to Democratic President-elect Joe Biden called it a “sideshow.” The company at the center of Powell’s claims, Dominion Voting Systems, issued a statement last week saying it intends to hold Powell “and those aiding and abetting her fraudulent actions, accountable for any harm that may occur as a result.” And election law advocates from both parties said that even if her cases are swiftly dismissed, as they expect them to be, they are no laughing matter.

Full Article: Former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell still pushing conspiracy-filled election lawsuits – ABC News

 

Editorial: Trump’s latest Fox News rant was one of his most dangerous. Republicans can’t ignore it. | The Washington Post

President Trump’s Sunday Fox News rant ranks as one of the most dangerous of his presidency, and that is saying something. Mr. Trump issued claim after incoherent claim about vote rigging — machines switched thousands of votes, dead people voted, mail-in ballots were “phony,” poll watchers “weren’t allowed.” The United States just conducted probably the most secure, transparent presidential vote in its history; Mr. Trump calls it “the most messed-up election we have ever seen.” Proving there is no core national institution he will not besmirch, Mr. Trump attacked the judicial system for failing to ratify his lies and suggested that the Justice Department and the FBI are in on the conspiracy. Either the president is delusional, or he is willing to knowingly tear down the democracy to deny that he is a loser. Either way, everyone else in a position of trust has a responsibility to defend the nation’s democratic system against Mr. Trump’s sustained assault. Some Republicans, mostly at the state and local levels, have done so, at times under extreme public scrutiny, counting the votes and refusing to manipulate the electoral process to overturn the popular will. For conscientiously overseeing the vote in his state — and standing up for its integrity against baseless attacks from Mr. Trump and the state’s two U.S. senators — Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his family have received threats. He and other election officials have had to accept security details. “It’s time to stand up and be counted,” Mr. Raffensperger said. “Are you going to stand for integrity? Or are you going to stand for the wild mob? You wanted to condemn the wild mob when it’s on the left side. What are you going to do when it’s on our side?”

Full Article: Opinion | Trump’s latest Fox News rant was one of his most dangerous. Republicans can’t ignore it. – The Washington Post

 

Arizona certifies election results with Biden, Kelly winning | Andrew Oxford/Arizona Republic

Arizona officials certified the results of the state’s election on Monday, confirming Democratic President-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state and clearing the way for Mark Kelly to take his seat in the U.S. Senate this week. Secretary of State Katie Hobbs touted high turnout despite the election unfolding in the middle of a pandemic. Voters cast more than 3.2 million ballots and turnout neared 80%, a 23% increase from the midterm election two years ago and an 8% increase from the last presidential election in 2016, Hobbs said. “Despite the unprecedented challenges, Arizonans showed up for our democracy,” Hobbs said. “Every Arizona voter has my thanks and should know they can stand proud that this election was transparency, accuracy and fairness in accordance with Arizona’s laws and election procedures, despite numerous unfounded claims to the contrary.” Hobbs, a Democrat, signed the official election results in the old state Capitol in Phoenix along with the state’s Republican governor and attorney general, Doug Ducey and Mark Brnovich, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert Brutinel. Ducey expressed confidence in the election process. “We do elections well here in Arizona. The system is strong and that’s why I bragged on it so much,” he said.

Full Article: Arizona certifies election results with Biden, Kelly winning

 

Georgia: Judge freezes voting machines in three counties | Josh Gerstein/Politico

A judge assigned to a Republican-led lawsuit alleging widespread fraud in the presidential election in Georgia issued an order late Sunday night blocking plans to wipe or reset voting machines used in three counties in the state. U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten Sr. revealed in his four-page directive that he held a hearing via Zoom Sunday evening on the suit — one of two cases filed in federal courts last week by Sidney Powell, an outspoken Texas attorney who joined President Donald Trump’s legal team earlier this month only to be dismissed from it a few days later. The hearing was not announced on the court’s docket and appears not to have been open to the press or public. It seems to have focused on claims that the election results in Georgia were wildly inaccurate due to use of machines from a leading vendor of voting equipment — Dominion Election Systems. Powell has alleged, based on scant evidence, that the firm’s foreign ties allowed hostile governments to meddle in the U.S. election via a conspiracy that involved both Democratic and Republican U.S. officials. While many Democratic and some Republican officials have dismissed Powell’s claims as a fantasy, some GOP leaders are also warning that the effort to stoke doubt about the just-completed election could depress Republican turnout in a pair of runoff elections set for Jan. 5 in Georgia that could determine whether the GOP or Democrats control the U.S. Senate for the next two years.

Full Article: Judge freezes voting machines in three Georgia counties – POLITICO

 

Georgia: Judge directs state officials not to reset voting machines | Zack Budryk/The Hill

A federal judge on Sunday barred state officials from resetting voting machines used in three Georgia counties. In the four-page order, District Judge Timothy Batten, a George W. Bush appointee, barred officials from “altering, destroying, or erasing, or allowing the alteration, destruction, or erasure of, any software or data on any Dominion voting machine in Cobb, Gwinnett, and Cherokee Counties.” Attorney Sidney Powell, who brought the suit against Gov. Brian Kemp (R), Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) and four other election officials, has alleged without evidence that Dominion election systems were tampered with by foreign governments. In a hearing on Sunday, the state officials argued that they do not have authority over county elections officials. Batten agreed to receive a brief from Kemp and Raffensperger detailing their opposition to a “forensic inspection” of the machines, and also ordered the defendants to provide the plaintiffs with the state’s contract with the company. However, he also certified the temporary hold for appeal, allowing Raffensperger and Kemp to immediately appeal the decision to the 11th Circuit. He noted in an order on Monday morning that the case may benefit from an appeal, appearing to acknowledge jurisdictional questions about the lawsuit.

Source: Judge directs state officials not to reset Georgia voting machines | TheHil

 

Georgia: Kemp to Trump: Law blocks him from ‘interfering’ with elections | Greg Bluestein/The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

 

Gov. Brian Kemp’s office responded Monday to President Donald Trump’s demands to help him overturn Georgia’s election results with a reminder that state law “prohibits the governor from interfering in the election.” The Georgia Republican has become a favorite target of Trump, who said Sunday he was “ashamed” that he endorsed him in 2018 and tweeted Monday that the “hapless” governor should use non-existent “emergency powers.” “Georgia law prohibits the governor from interfering in elections. The Secretary of State, who is an elected constitutional officer, has oversight over elections that cannot be overridden by executive order,” said Kemp spokesman Cody Hall. “As the governor has said repeatedly, he will continue to follow the law and encourage the Secretary of State to take reasonable steps – including a sample audit of signatures – to restore trust and address serious issues that have been raised.” The governor has been largely silent for weeks over Trump’s attacks, which have escalated after he became the first Republican to lose Georgia in a presidential vote in nearly 30 years. He said in a previous interview that he understands Trump’s “frustration” but that the law clearly sets out his duties. The criticism could haunt Kemp through the 2022 midterms, when he is gearing up to face Stacey Abrams in a likely rematch. It appears increasingly possible that he might first have to survive a primary challenge from a Trump-backed adversary — perhaps Doug Collins, a four-term congressman now leading the president’s Georgia recount effort.

Full Article: Kemp to Trump: Georgia law blocks him from ‘interfering’ with elections

 

Iowa: Scott County OKs congressional race recount results, despite ballot discrepancy | Tom Barton/Quad-City Times

Nearly four weeks after the election, Republican Mariannette Miller-Meeks is poised to be declared the official winner — by just six votes — in what has become the closest congressional race in the country, flipping a seat held by Democrats for the past 14 years. The Scott County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Monday to certify the results of a county recount in the uncalled Iowa 2nd congressional district race, despite an unexplained 131-ballot discrepancy between the number of absentee ballots counted on election day and those counted by the recount board. A state canvassing board is scheduled to meet Monday afternoon, the legal deadline under Iowa Code, to certify the results of the race, following a districtwide recount in all 24 counties, and officially declare Miller-Meeks as the winner of the race. However, there is still a possibility of legal challenges brought by the campaign of Democrat Rita Hart, which would set in motion a proceeding before a judicial panel.

Full Article: Scott County OKs Iowa congressional race recount results, despite ballot discrepancy | Lee-wire | globegazette.com

 

Michigan: Trump allies to judge: Force Governor to overturn election | Dave Boucher/Detroit Free Press

Allies of President Donald Trump want a federal court in Michigan to force state leaders to set aside election results and award its 16 electoral votes to the president. A separate conservative group also wants the Michigan Supreme Court to invalidate the results that show President-elect Joe Biden won the state. The latest lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of Michigan and before the state’s highest court, rely on unfounded allegations of widespread fraud and misconduct that judges in the state and across the country have previously rejected. Neither has a high likelihood of success. There is no evidence of mass fraud or wrongdoing that affected election operations in Michigan or elsewhere. Biden earned roughly 154,000 more votes than Trump in Michigan. Last week, the Michigan Board of State Canvassers formally certified the results. But the federal lawsuit, filed by Trump-affiliated attorney Sidney Powell and a cadre of other lawyers, wants a judge to force Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to “decertify” those results. They want to act before Dec. 14, when the Electoral College is set to meet and Biden will receive the more than 270 votes needed to formally secure the presidency.

Full Article: Trump allies to Michigan judge: Force Whitmer to overturn election

 

New Hampshire Officials Study How Post-Election Audits Would Work Here, As In Dozens of Other States | Casey McDermott/New Hampshire Public Radio

New Hampshire is in the minority of states that don’t routinely audit their election results. But on Monday, the Secretary of State’s office tested out how such an audit might work in future races. Teams from two election technology companies — Clear Ballot and Nordic Innovation Labs  — ran a test audit on the results of five local races from 2018, in a public session at the State Archives. (A recording of the session can be viewed online here.) A new law requires the Secretary of State’s office “to study the use of high speed, optical/digital scan ballot counting devices for use in conducting post-election audits of electronic ballot counting devices used in state and federal elections.” As noted in the bill’s legislative history, New Hampshire’s lack of post-election audits has been identified in some outside reports as a potential security risk.

Full Article: N.H. Officials Study How Post-Election Audits Would Work Here, As In Dozens of Other States | New Hampshire Public Radio