Republicans who took part in former President Donald Trump’s fake elector scheme in 2020 are once again signed up to cast electoral votes for him in 2024. That includes individuals in key swing states who are facing felony charges.
There are 93 electors in seven swing states who pledged to vote for Trump if he wins that state’s popular vote. According to an analysis by Politico, eight of them are facing felony charges for signing fake elector certificates in 2020, five signed similar elector certificates but were not charged and at least six others challenged the results of the 2020 election.
Breaking it down by state, there are six electors in Michigan who took part in the 2020 scheme, five in Pennsylvania and two in Nevada. There are more Trump electors in those states and others who deny Joe Biden won the 2020 election. However, a fake electors scheme would be much more difficult this time around due to a law passed by congress in December 2022.
The Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act requires that a state’s governor send a certificate of ascertainment identifying the state’s electors. It also increased the threshold for an objection to be heard in Congress during the Jan. 6 certification. Now one-fifth of the members from both the House and Senate must sign on. Previously, it was just one member from each chamber.
