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    • First come the results, then come the lawsuits. How were the AGs and lawyers prepared?
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    First come the results, then come the lawsuits. How were the AGs and lawyers prepared?

    Harry Posted on

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    ATLANTA – State attorneys general, campaign lawyers and election-related groups across the country are preparing for what could happen. influx of cases on election results.

    Even before the election, a number of cases were heard in courts in battleground states. state voter registration listslast minute election rule changesrequirements counting of mail-in votesand whether local counties need to certify results. The founder of United Sovereign Americans, one of the plaintiffs who frequently challenge the registration rolls, told USA TODAY in October that he was already planning to file a lawsuit after the results were announced.

    In an internal memo obtained by USA TODAY in October, lawyers for the Harris campaign and the Democratic National Committee said they had been preparing for post-election court battles ever since. former President Donald Trump tried to overthrow President Joe Biden‘s 2020 election victory.

    “For four years we have been planning to win not only at the ballot box but also in court and ensure a new free and fair election,” wrote Dana Remus and Monica Guardiola, lawyers with senior roles in the Harris campaign and the Democratic National Committee, respectively.

    Claire Zunk, communications director for the Republican National Committee’s election integrity initiative, called the Republican election litigation operation an “unprecedented” commitment to protecting legal votes.

    “With more than 230,000 volunteers to Protect the Vote, this is the most robust election integrity operation the party has ever seen,” Zunk said in a statement to USA TODAY.

    Chief prosecutors describe the country as tense

    Multiple lawyers who spoke to USA TODAY about 2024 legal preparations pointed to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 results as a major factor. These efforts culminated in the attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters on January 6, 2021.

    “We needed to be ready because no matter what the election outcome is, there are people who are going to claim victory,” said Keith Ellison, Minnesota’s Democratic attorney general.

    Ellison said his office has prepared for a variety of contingencies, such as a local county refusing to certify results. Local certification is part of the process of certifying and formalizing state election results.

    Since 2020, dozens of local county officials across the country have delayed or refused certification. But so far none of these efforts have actually overturned a result. In October, a Georgia judge ruled that county officials in his state have to confirm the results By deadlines, which this year fall on November 12th.

    Majority of the Reno election board in Washoe County, Nevada voted against certification Although some developments were reversed in the two local elections held in July and the elections ended in failure, Approved about a week later.

    Nevada Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford told USA TODAY the certification was just one of the issues his office is grappling with to ensure it is ready to file charges after Election Day. The state has seen lawsuits from groups affiliated with the Republican party over the deadline for voter registration lists and mail ballots to be delivered to the state.

    “I don’t believe anyone thought about what was happening in 2020,” Ford said. “We are much more prepared this time”

    Asked by USA TODAY at a news conference Tuesday about his preparations for potential post-Election Day litigation, Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said his office is “battle tested” and has a process in place.

    Voting rights groups are preparing

    Longstanding voting rights groups are also bracing for a new round of litigation that could emerge after Election Day.

    Damon Hewitt, president and chief executive of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said the committee represented the NAACP in 15 cases between Election Day 2020 and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. He sees the lawsuits over county certification in Georgia and whether thousands of poll workers will suddenly have to count ballots by hand in this year’s election as a “dress rehearsal” for what could happen in court after Tuesday.

    “We can’t let this be a matter of Republicans versus Democrats or candidates versus candidates,” Hewitt said.

    Stephanie Owens, the NAACP’s senior counsel on voting rights, said the national organization had taken some legal action ahead of the election, including intervening in a lawsuit over the hand-count rule. Georgia Supreme Court decides not to weigh in The statement was made on Tuesday after a court ruled that the rule was unlawful.

    “There are a variety of actions that we have taken and continue to take, mostly preemptively, with our partners to ensure that we don’t have to have many of these fights on Election Day and beyond,” Owens said.

    ‘Look around and find out’: Nevada AG warns about election violence

    Nevada Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford said his office is not only preparing for possible lawsuits, but is also prepared to combat any post-election political violence.

    Including governors in many states Nevada Republican Governor Joe LombardoMobilized the National Guard to be ready to support local law enforcement on Election Day. Local offices prepared to protect election workers panic button and bulletproof glass.

    Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner issued a stern warning Monday to anyone considering resorting to violence during the election.

    “I also want to be clear, anyone who thinks it’s time to play militia, F around and learn” said Krasner.

    Ford reiterated that message on Tuesday.

    “I’ll say what they say in Philadelphia, excuse my French, but let them mess around and find out,” Ford told USA TODAY. “We will actually prosecute those who violate the law when it comes to voter intimidation.”

    Harry
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