After Donald Trump clinched the 2016 presidential election, a few Democrats in Congress made some noise about challenging his electoral victory. Fast forward to 2020, and the tables have turned—but not in the way you might expect. When some local officials hesitated to certify Joe Biden’s win, citing concerns about how the election was run, Democrats decided to play hardball. They rolled out an intimidation playbook, complete with lawsuits and threats, making it clear: certify those results or face the consequences.
Take Marc Elias, for example—a name that’s become synonymous with election meddling. He’s been quick to remind Republican officials of the legal beatdown they received in 2020 when they dared to question the election results. His not-so-subtle message on X was a clear warning: if you try to push back in 2024, expect to be dragged through the courts and lose—again.
But Elias isn’t the only one flexing legal muscles. Swing states are turning into battlegrounds where election officials who dare to ask questions are being targeted. In Georgia, the State Election Board decided last week that county election board members have the right to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” into any discrepancies before certifying election results. Sounds fair, right? But when Fulton County board member Julie Adams took them up on that, she got more than she bargained for. Adams asked for crucial election data, including the voter check-in list and drop-box ballot recap sheets. When that information wasn’t provided, she refused to certify the results. The response from the Georgia Democrats? A threatening letter implying she could face criminal charges if she didn’t fall in line.
Out West, in Nevada, the state’s secretary of state and attorney general are taking a different approach—using the Supreme Court to force local officials to certify election results. When three Washoe County Commissioners voted against certifying two recounts, citing “suspicious behavior” during the process, the state’s top officials swooped in with a legal challenge. They argued that state law required certification within five days, regardless of the concerns raised.
And let’s not forget Arizona. In Cochise County, two supervisors, Terry Thomas Crosby and Peggy Judd, found themselves slapped with felony charges after they stalled on certifying the 2022 election results. This, despite the fact that Maricopa County—the state’s most populous—was already under fire for its own botched election administration during the midterms.
It’s a clear message from the Democrats: questioning election results is off-limits, and if you try, they’re ready to bring the full weight of the law down on you. It’s less about ensuring fair elections and more about making sure their version of events goes unchallenged.
