WASHINGTON — Unable to accept their clear loss in the presidential election, Republicans around the country are hard at work changing the rules so they can rig future electoral processes. And this time it goes far beyond their usual voter suppression playbook — Republicans are changing electoral college allocation rules and even giving themselves explicit authority to ignore the popular vote.
“Republicans have no respect for voters and nothing but utter contempt for our democracy,” said Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee President Jessica Post. “We saw GOP officials at all levels, from the presidency all the way down to election boards, repeatedly try to overturn the will of the voters. They didn’t succeed, but they’re already hard at work changing the rules so that next time they can freely ignore the results they don’t like.”
The GOP’s new assault on American democracy includes:
- A Republican in Arizona proposed a bill that would let the legislature override the secretary of state’s certification of the popular vote winner. The proposal would also institute jury trials for election challenges and prohibit judges from throwing out frivolous election lawsuits.
- On the day after the Capitol insurrection, a GOP representative in Pennsylvania introduced legislation that would explicitly permit the legislature to appoint its own slate of electors.
- Republicans in Wisconsin are pushing to allocate electoral votes based on the state’s gerrymandered congressional districts, a move that would have boosted President Trump’s electoral vote count in the last election. Legislators in New Hampshire and Nebraska are debating similar rule changes.
“Republicans are the anti-democracy party,” added Post. “We’re doing everything we can to hold them accountable for their attacks on America’s cherished institutions.”
###
