Trump Campaign Pivots To A Legal Strategy Of Subverting Election Results

President Donald Trump‘s team of lawyers working to reverse the election results projecting his loss have shifted their strategy away from disqualifying enough ballots on the basis of unmatched signatures or mail-in processes, that they have argued in Pennsylvania are unconstitutional. Instead, the campaign appears to be trying to delay the final count long enough to cast doubt on the unofficial results — thus, possibly influencing electors from key swing states.

According to a Washington Post report, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani — who is now overseeing the president’s legal team — wants to influence Republican lawmakers in swing states to pick electors that could shake up the electoral college.

Faithless electors have never changed the outcome of a presidential election, according to FairVote. And while it’s still an unlikely outcome, the Trump team seems to be aiming to cast doubt on the victor. At least 32 states and the District of Columbia have established laws attempting to bind electors to voting for the state’s popular pick. These include several battleground states that flipped blue this election such as Arizona, Michigan and Nevada.

Additionally, Giuliani’s plan to have state politicians select the electors is impossible in several states. It is against the law in Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin law does not give the legislature any role in picking electors. Most other states are uninterested in changing their selection process.

Despite is unlikelihood, Giuliani asked a Pennsylvania court to amend the campaign’s lawsuit — whose principal argument that observers were not given proper access to watch ballot counting was thrown out Tuesday — instead asking the judge to declare the state’s results “defective” and order Pennsylvania’s Republican-controlled legislature to select the state’s electors rather than Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, who is mandated under state to appoint electors based on the popular vote.

Several advisers told the Post that Trump’s true goal with the lawsuits is now to cast enough doubt on the results that he can ensure his supporters remain loyal, should he run again in 2024.

The strategy seems to be working. A new Monmouth University poll found that 77% of Trump supporters believe Joe Biden’s win was due to fraud.

The slew of lawsuits and attempts to delay certification by the Trump team in various states have pressed on, to little avail.

On Wednesday, the campaign wired $3 million to election officials Wisconsin to begin a recount in the stae’s two largest counties. State laws require the money for a recount to be paid upfront.

In Nevada, the Trump campaign filed a 21-page statement Tuesday seeking to overturn the results on the basis of a state law which allows candidates to contest and election due to voter fraud. The lawsuit focuses mainly on Clark County, a solidly blue area of Nevada primarily responsible for Biden’s win.

The campaign similarly expressed doubt over the validity of the results in Arizona and the state Republican Party has sued the county for the way it conducted its required hand-count audit, much to the frustration of the GOP chairman of the county Board of Supervisors.

“It’s time to dial back the rhetoric, rumors, and false claims. There is no evidence of fraud or misconduct or malfunction,” Clint Hickman wrote in a public letter Tuesday.

Article by Katherine Huggins