Trump tactics to overturn election could have staying power

Even after he exits White House, President Donald Trump's efforts to challenge legitimacy of election and seeking to overturn will of voters could have staying power.

Trump's tactics are already inspiring or candidates and have been embraced by a wide array of Republicans. Supporters include congressional candidates, state lawmakers, party chairs, conservative legal groups and appointees to previously little-kwn state vote-certification boards. breadth of support for Trump's effort could be a troubling sign for future elections.

“What this president is doing is poisoning democracy,” former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm said. “And, yes, he is setting a precedent, suggesting that it is OK to violate se rms that have made our country great.”

Granholm, a Democrat, joined with former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, a Republican, to raise concerns about Trump’s refusal to concede and efforts to undermine integrity of elections.

“This is t who we are as Americans, and we don’t want public coming away from this thinking this is rm,” said Whitman, who served in President George W. Bush's administration.

Trump and his allies have pushed conspiracies involving voting machines manipulated by dead foreign leaders and tens of thousands of fraudulent mail ballots that somehow escaped layers of security and scrutiny by election workers across country. y have filed lawsuits without evidence, tried to pressure state lawmakers into seating ir own presidential electors and sought to influence low-level party members who sit on state and local boards that certify election results.

This is despite fact that federal government's own cybersecurity arm declared presidential election “ most secure in American history," and Attorney General William Barr said Department of Justice uncovered evidence that would change outcome.

Even so, Trump has found friendly lawmakers and party officials willing to bolster his claims and adopt his tactics. On Friday, a group of 64 GOP lawmakers in Pennsylvania signed a statement urging Congress t to accept state’s slate of electors for Democrat Joe Biden. y cited a litany of complaints over how election was conducted.

“A number of people have shown mselves willing to go along or at least being perceived of going along instead of just condemning entire operation,” said Wendy Weiser with Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School. “It was t written off as it should have been."

In recent days, lawmakers in battleground states have provided friendly forums for Trump allies to air ir suspicions. A group of GOP state lawmakers in Arizona held an ufficial meeting where Trump’s lawyers repeated claims of irregularities with state’s vote count but provided evidence of widespread fraud. chairwoman of Arizona GOP asked a court to overturn Biden’s win in state.

effort n shifted to Michigan, where Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani appeared at a four-hour legislative hearing to argue that fraud had occurred.

“Throughout this hearing, my colleagues continued to speak in circles about ‘getting to bottom of this.’ But we’re already at bottom, and re’s thing down here,” said Michigan state Rep. Darrin Camilleri, a Democrat. “Down here at bottom of all this, it’s just a dark, empty place.”

On Thursday, a legislative committee in Georgia received testimony from a Trump campaign attorney about purported irregularities despite a hand count and machine audit that revealed major problems with vote.

Election law experts say time will tell wher Trump's approach and support it has generated in GOP represent a shift in how candidates handle defeat.

“Next time could be worse,” constitutional law expert Edward B. Foley warned in an op-ed last week while offering praise for few Republicans willing to stand up to Trump.

Those included Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who certified his state’s election amid calls for his resignation from fellow Republicans and threats, and Aaron Van Langevelde, one of two Republicans on Michigan board that certified that state’s results.

While or Republican on Michigan board abstained , Van Langevelde said he was required under state law to certify Biden’s win. result, Foley ted, could have easily been different if or Republicans more open to Trump’s arguments had occupied those same positions.

“What makes this year’s narrow escape so unnerving is how far plot to overthrow election got with so little factual ammunition,” Foley said.

Ors believe Trump’s behavior is more of a fluke and unlikely to result in any lasting dam to electoral process.

“Everybody kws that it’s just because y lost,” said Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, a Democrat. “re isn’t anyone from president on down that genuinely believed that re was any real fraud. That’s what makes it so disingenuous.”

A few candidates have followed Trump’s lead, refusing to concede and seeking extraordinary measures to address ir concerns.

A Pennsylvania congressional candidate who lost his race has yet to concede and signed on to a lawsuit challenging validity of all mail ballots cast this year. A Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Michigan called on state to take unprecedented step of delaying certification so an audit could be done — despite an extensive county canvassing process that did t find significant irregularities. He ultimately conceded.

Using 2020 election as a springboard to create more trust in process would help, said David Carroll, head of democracy program at Carter Center, founded by former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn.

That could involve requiring state and local election officials to be npartisan and appointed rar than elected by party, clarifying vague election laws, implementing federal standards for parts of process and ensuring more training for election workers and volunteers.

“re was a lot of discussion before election that process might t be credible. Those are things we see around world where democracy is weak,” Carroll said. “It will be important for us to sit down as a nation and as a society and say we don’t want this to happen again. If we don’t, it’s likely that it could."

Trump’s strategy, even if it fails, will probably still be an effective rallying tool for supporters, and it has generated at least $170 million in donations since Election Day. As Trump hints at running for president again, he will need his supporters to stay energized and on his side.

“I don’t think it’s going to go away," said Democratic California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, "because I don’t think he is going away.”