By Leslie Santillan
The whole world waited to see who the 46th President of the United States of America would be, as we were kept on the edge of our seats for several days following the election day while eating for mail in ballots to be counted. President Donald Trump, his campaign, and other Republicans filed multiple lawsuits, most claiming voter fraud in various states without any evidence. Within the first few days after the election, many of the lawsuits were dismissed and denied. The courts continue to reject these false assertations as well.
Pennsylvania has a total of 20 electoral votes, and Nevada has six electoral votes. On Nov. 24, 2020, both states certified their electoral votes, which went to President-elect Joe Biden. President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit, Donald J. Trump for President V. Boockvar, claiming that Trump campaign observers were unable to observe the ballots being counted at a close enough range. The Trump campaign asked the federal court to stop Pennsylvania from certifying the election results. According to CNN, Judge Mathew Brann of the US District Court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania decided to reject the lawsuit. He said, “[the] plaintiffs have failed to meet their burden to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, [..] [i]nstead, this Court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusation, unpled in the operative complaint and unsupported by evidence.â€
The lawsuits are reminiscent of Trump supporters chanting to count votes in states where President Donald Trump was winning and to stop counting votes in states where he was losing. On Nov. 24, 2020, Republicans filed a lawsuit in Wisconsin in which they asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to stop verifying votes. However, the Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected President Trump’s lawsuit within two days.
Despite this outcome, President Trump continues to falsely claim that voter fraud occurred in the swing states. According to USA Today, President Donald Trump recently gave a speech where he “lodged fact-free protests about balloting procedures in swing states like Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, and Wisconsin. He repeated allegations of fraud that have been rejected and debunked by judges and election officials from both political parties.â€
President Donald Trump also filed a lawsuit in Nevada. The lawsuit claimed that there had been voter fraud due to people illegally voting. However, Judge James T. Russell of the Nevada District Court in Carson City wrote that the Trump campaign “did not prove under any standard of proof that illegal votes were cast and counted, or legal votes were counted at all, due to voter fraud […],†according to the Washington Post. President Trump’s lawsuit was unsuccessful, and Nevada has certified the results.
On Dec. 4, 2020, California’s 55 electoral votes were certified in favor of President-elect Joe Biden. In order to win the presidency, a candidate needs 270 electoral votes. With California’s 55 electoral votes, it has “officially hand[ed] [President-elect Joe Biden] the Electoral College majority needed to win the White House,†according to NBC news.
Even those in the Republican party, such as Rusty Bowers, Arizona House Speaker, do not condone President Trump’s behavior. According to NBC news Rusty Bowers said, “as a conservative Republican, I don’t like the results of the presidential election […] I voted for President Trump and worked hard to reelect him. But I cannot and will not entertain a suggestion that we violate current law to change the outcome of a certified election.â€
Despite the certification of states, President Donald Trump continues to push in any way he can to win the presidential election. One example of this is that “Trump has refused to admit he lost, and this week posted a 46-minute speech to Facebook filled with conspiracy theories, misstatements and vows to keep up his fight to subvert the election,†according to The Guardian.
However, Trump’s supporters still believe there is a chance that he will win the presidency and that somehow the election was rigged. President Donald Trump spoke at a rally held for Republican senators in Georgia on December 5. He told the audience that he won Georgia despite the fact that Georgia already certified the results. According to the New York Times, President Donald Trump “promoted about 10,000 supporters […] at a regional airport to chant, ‘Stop the Steal!’†In the same rally, Senator Kelly Loeffler, a Georgia Republican, also refused to acknowledge that President Donald Trump lost the election.
Each state has its deadline to certify the election results; however, the official date is December 14. All of the electoral votes are sent to Congress, where they will be approved by January 6, 2021. In the near future, it is expected that President Donald Trump and his campaign will continue to file lawsuits claiming voter fraud despite lacking evidence to support his claims. If you go on President Donald Trump’s Twitter account, you can see his claims that he won the election despite the fact that all of the evidence points in the other direction. One thing is certain, President Donald Trump will not go down without a fight.
