Pressure On State Officials And Legislatures To Overturn Certified Election Results

Following the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump engaged in a coordinated effort to pressure state officials and state legislatures across multiple battleground states to overturn or delay the certification of lawful election results. These efforts targeted governors, secretaries of state, election investigators, county canvassers, and state legislators in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin.

After courts repeatedly rejected Trump’s fraud claims, he and his allies shifted focus from litigation to direct political pressure. Officials were urged to refuse certification, decertify results after the fact, or appoint alternative slates of pro-Trump electors despite lacking any legal authority to do so once elections had been certified.

In Michigan, Trump invited Republican legislative leaders to the White House after the state had certified Joe Biden’s victory and publicly suggested they could intervene to overturn the results. At the county level, Trump allies pressured Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers to block certification of Detroit’s results before public backlash and legal warnings forced a reversal.

In Pennsylvania, Trump and his legal team repeatedly urged state officials and legislators to “reexamine” ballots that had already been lawfully counted and certified. Legislators were encouraged to convene special sessions and appoint alternative electors, an approach rejected by both Republican and Democratic officials as unconstitutional.

In Arizona, Trump focused pressure on Governor Doug Ducey and state legislators during certification. Trump publicly criticized Ducey and attempted to contact him while certification documents were being signed. Trump allies also pressured legislators to decertify results or authorize partisan reviews intended to cast doubt on the outcome, despite repeated confirmations that the election was conducted lawfully.

In Georgia and Wisconsin, Trump and his allies similarly urged legislators and state officials to overturn certified results or convene special sessions to reverse outcomes. Officials in both states rejected these demands, citing clear legal limits and the absence of any lawful mechanism to undo certification.

Investigators concluded that this pressure campaign sought to bypass lawful election administration and substitute partisan decision-making for certified voter outcomes. Rather than pursuing legitimate legal remedies, Trump attempted to induce officials and lawmakers to exercise powers they did not possess under state or federal law.

How The Laws May Apply

18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2) — Attempting to influence or halt state certification processes connected to Congress’s counting of electoral votes may qualify as obstruction of an official federal proceeding.

18 U.S.C. § 371 — Coordinated efforts to persuade officials and legislators to take unlawful actions may constitute a conspiracy to interfere with the federal government’s election certification duties.

18 U.S.C. § 241 — Pressuring officials to reject or nullify legitimate ballots may violate voters’ constitutional right to have their lawful votes counted.

Sources

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/20/us/politics/trump-michigan-election.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-state-legislatures-election/2020/12/07/

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-pressure-state-lawmakers-election-2021-01-06/

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/01/trump-pennsylvania-election-pressure-441548

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-pressured-arizona-governor-election-results-2021-02-05/

https://www.justsecurity.org/81939/guide-to-the-january-6th-committee-final-report/