By Roz Brown
The next presidential election is still 15 months away but New México election officials are absorbing the latest details about a fake elector scheme from four years ago involving the Land of Enchantment.
New México is one of seven battleground states where former President Donald Trump and his Republican allies are accused of trying to persuade state officials to illegally swing the last election in his favor.
David Becker, executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, said as the next contest approaches, election workers still face fallout from three years ago.
“They are still dealing with this stuff. They are still suffering, they are still being harassed, they are still being attacked,” Becker outlined. “That’s the state we’re in now in early August, 15 months before a presidential election.”
New México’s five fake electors have yet to be charged with any crimes related to their interference. The federal indictment against the former president appears to suggest the effort in New México was not as involved as those in other states such as Arizona, Georgia or Wisconsin, where electors were asked to sign certificates falsely stating Trump, not Democrat Joe Biden, had won their states.
In 2020, Trump and his legal team filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New México, claiming the state broke the law when it allowed drop boxes to be a part of the voting process.
They are still dealing with this stuff. They are still suffering, they are still being harassed, they are still being attacked. That’s the state we’re in now in early August, 15 months before a presidential election.”
David Becker, Center for Election Innovation and Research
Becker knows Americans are eager for an outcome in the court cases stemming from 2020, but hopes both Republicans and Democrats will eventually be on the same page.
“That we as Americans can say, ‘Regardless of who engaged in these activities — if they are proven to be true beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law — if those are true, can’t we all as Americans agree that this has gone too far? That this should never happen again?'” Becker asked.
Becker, whose organization provides pro bono legal counsel to election officials, said he has already received requests from nearly half the states this year.
Roz Brown is a Producer with Public News Service.
