Trump ’s Fake Electors and the Electoral Count Act

Andy CraigTheNew York Times has obtained two internal memos outlining the strategy at play behind one of the 2020 election’s stranger moments: the defeated Republican elector candidates who met and “voted” for Trump in states he hadn’t won. At the time, it was a farcical display and the object of widespread mockery. In Michigan, the pseudo-electors weren’t even allowed into the state capitol on the day in mid-December designated for members of the Electoral College to cast their ballots.Now, greater scrutiny is being placed on the stunt, which seems to have been more central than was known at the time to Trump ’s effort to overturn the election results. Thenotorious memos from John Eastman relied on them, arguing that Vice President Pence should halt the count based on the supposed existence of multiple slates of electors received from some states. That was never true. The non-electors had submittedcertificates purporting to cast electoral votes, but they had not been certified or endorsed by any state government officials, as is required. Nor had any state ' s legislature endorsed the Trump slate of electors, another tactic that was attempted but failed.The two newly uncovered memos, written by lawyer Kenneth Chesebro to Trump campaign attorney James Troupis onNovember 18 andDecember 9, are the earliest documents yet found about the thinking behind this plan. And unlike most of the legal arguments advanced by Trump ’s team between election day and January 6, t...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs