Legal experts are sounding the alarm: this year's election might not be settled by the voters but rather in the courtroom. The stakes are incredibly high, with both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris bracing for what could be a brutal legal showdown.
Imagine this: instead of celebrating or conceding on election night, we could see teams of lawyers battling it out in courtrooms across the country. Trump’s allies, particularly in key swing states like Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada, are already laying the groundwork for legal challenges that could decide the outcome. According to a report from The Guardian, Trump’s allies have managed to push through new rules for Georgia's election board, which could allow them to delay the certification of results over ambiguous concerns about ballot discrepancies. This move is just one example of how legal battles could play a significant role in determining who ultimately wins the election.
Now, let’s talk about what’s happening in other states. In Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada, Republicans are pushing to purge voter rolls despite federal regulations limiting such actions close to an election. Nevada, in particular, has seen a lawsuit from Republicans aiming to block mail-in ballots received after election day from being counted, even though similar legal arguments have been consistently thrown out by courts in the past. The Washington Post reported that this ongoing effort to challenge election procedures is part of a broader strategy to create doubt and delay the certification of results.
What’s driving these challenges? Syracuse University law professor David Driesen, author of The Specter of Dictatorship: Judicial Enabling of Presidential Power, explained to Business Insider that Trump and his supporters are likely to claim fraud and use this as a pretext to pressure officials into delaying or refusing to certify election results. "You now have, in the swing states of Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, about 70 election deniers and commissions that are supposed to count the electoral votes, and already there have been about 20 cases where officials in recent elections have refused or delayed certification of results," Driesen said. He emphasized that the strategy seems clear: disrupt the certification process enough to prevent Kamala Harris from securing the electoral votes she’s won, potentially pushing the decision to the House of Representatives or even the Supreme Court, where Trump hopes for a favorable outcome.
On the flip side, Kamala Harris’s campaign isn’t sitting idle. The New York Times has reported that her team has significantly beefed up its legal arsenal, preparing for a courtroom clash that could determine the presidency. The anticipation of legal battles centers on swing states, where the outcome could hang in the balance if results are delayed or challenged. Driesen pointed out that this could lead to a chaotic situation where Harris is unable to claim electoral votes in states where she has clearly won, or at the very least, the legal wrangling could drag the process into the Supreme Court's hands, which is widely seen as leaning in Trump’s favor.
But why does all of this matter so much? Jonathan Diaz, director of voting advocacy at the Campaign Legal Center, highlighted that while legal challenges around election processes have become almost routine since 2020, they still pose significant risks to democracy. He noted that there’s been a shift in focus from pre-election litigation concerning polling places and mail-in ballots to post-election challenges about counting ballots and certifying results. Diaz expressed concern that even if many of these lawsuits don’t succeed in court, they contribute to a dangerous narrative of misinformation about election security. This, he warned, could set the stage for future efforts to overturn election results that some groups don’t like, regardless of the actual votes.
Looking back at the 2020 election, both Diaz and Driesen reminded us that Trump’s numerous attempts to contest the results were ultimately unsuccessful. Judges across the political spectrum, including those appointed by Trump, dismissed his claims of widespread voter fraud, leading to the certification of Joe Biden's victory. However, they cautioned that the persistence of these legal challenges, even when they’re unlikely to succeed, is troubling. They fuel public distrust in the electoral system, which can have long-lasting impacts on democracy.
So, where does this leave us? As we head into what could be one of the most contentious elections in U.S. history, both campaigns are gearing up not just for the fight for votes but for the fight over those votes. With legal teams on both sides ready to challenge and defend every ballot, the real drama might unfold not at the ballot box but in the courtroom. The outcomes of these legal battles could determine not just who sits in the Oval Office, but the future of American democracy itself.
Stay tuned for what promises to be an unprecedented election season, where the stakes are higher than ever, and the outcome is anything but certain. And remember, this isn’t just about one election—it’s about the integrity of the democratic process and the principles that uphold it.
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