State certification of vote deadlines, and what Trump lawyers are trying to derail. December 8 is designated safe harbor deadline. Afterwards, chaos

I got this from the CNN election news newsletter, and it goes to the heart of the Trump strategy to run a would be Biden POTUS elevation January 20, 2021 into a ditch. I.e. continue disputes past December 8th, so competing state slates certifying either a Biden or Trump win for the electoral college voting for POTUS by the different states happen to be picked after December 8th

In a word, Trump is trying to run out the clock to get as many states past December 8th so there is a POSSIBILITY that state electors for the electoral college are NOT picked before December 8th so then the states themselves could choose their own slate for the Electoral college. And potentially flout the will of the voters of each state in the process. Who would pick those electors ? Frankly in many cases partisan GOP governors, no matter who won the popular vote in their state.

This is a roadmap as to the Giuliani and RNC madness and it needs to be taken seriously.

See the newsletter below. This is IT; like the dee and dumb nick picking over what distinguished between socialist and capitalist, via small details, this matter of timing is deadly serious and is the backbone of Trump's attempt to ruin this election.,

Sunday 11.22.20

Questions? Comments? [email protected]

by Paul LeBlanc and Zachary B. Wolf

: State certification takes center stage

President Donald Trump's struggle to deny the results of the election is now up against an existential threat: a rapid succession of states due to certify their election results before the critical date of December 8.

Certification is usually just a formality. But the process has taken on new importance this year as Trump's legal team has sought to delay the finalization of results -- a strategy aimed at denying Joe Biden his due victory in the Electoral College, which votes December 14.

The idea is that if there's no certification, then Republican-run state legislatures in a few key states -- especially Michigan and Pennsylvania -- could appoint pro-Trump slates of presidential electors, even though Biden won the popular vote in those states.

The entire scheme revolves around December 8. That's the "safe harbor" deadline under federal law. What that means is that when Congress tallies the electoral votes in January, it must accept electors that were certified before the deadline. If a state missed the deadline, then Congress can consider disputed slates of electors.

So Trump's subversion efforts become impossible if key states certify their results before then -- but the whole election remains in play if Trump's team can push certification past the magic date. 

A number of critical states are set to certify their results this week. The first two to keep an eye on are Pennsylvania and Michigan:

In Pennsylvania, there isn't a State Board of Canvassers to certify state results. Instead, it's done just on the county level. Of the 67 counties in the state, all of the county Board of Elections – except Philadelphia – are expected to have meetings on Monday to certify their election results.

Philadelphia is expected to meet Monday or Tuesday depending on a pending lawsuit filed in state court attempting to delay certification.

Once the counties certify results, the information is sent to Secretary of State Kathy Boockvar who then will award the state’s 20 electoral votes to the winner.

In Michigan, the State Board of Canvassers is set to meet Monday to certify the state’s election results, but there is a lot of attention on what its two GOP members will do.

According to Rep. Paul Mitchell, who spoke days ago with Norman Shinkle, one of the two GOP members, Shinkle indicated he would vote against certifying the election results until an investigation is completed so as to push a delay -- even though there is no evidence of fraud or malfeasance that would necessitate such a move.

Shinkle told the New York Times that he had received hundreds of messages both favoring and opposing certification. “You can’t make up your mind before you get all the facts,” he told the Times.

There's drama elsewhere, too. 

In Wisconsin, which isn't set to certify results until next month, a Republican member of the Election Commission posted a tweet praising a well-known conspiracy theorist who has spread false claims about voter fraud.

And in Georgia, which has already certified results, the Trump campaign has requested a formal recount, though it's unlikely to change his loss in the state. 

The bottom line: All of this chaos drummed up by Trump's team might not go anywhere. But it has turned the usually procedural process of states certifying their results into a drama that, at a minimum, allows doubt about the validity of the election to spread -- and, at the extreme, gives Trump an unexpected opening to maneuver his way into keeping power. It's unlikely, but Trump has surprised everyone before. 

Here's the full rundown of states that are scheduled to finalize their vote totals this week, according to CNN's political unit:

Monday, 11/23

• Arizona (county certification deadline)
• Maine
• Michigan (state certification meeting)
• Pennsylvania (county certification deadline)
• Tennessee (county certification deadline)
• Utah

Tuesday, 11/24

• Washington, DC
• Indiana 
• Minnesota
• North Carolina (state certification meeting)
• New Mexico
• Nevada (state certification meeting)    

Wednesday, 11/25      

• Alabama
• Alaska
• Connecticut
• Massachusetts (likely, according to state election officials)

Saturday, 11/28

• Ohio (state certification meeting)

Arizona and Wisconsin, two other states that were late projections, are due to certify the week after Thanksgiving. 

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Andrew Beckwith, PhD