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an 9 24

Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias, publisher of Democracy Docket, has been warning that if Vice President Kamala Harris defeats former President Donald Trump in November, far-right MAGA Republicans will try everything they can to overturn the election results. And those Trump loyalists, according to Elias, are much better organized in 2024 than they were in 2020.

Not all Republicans, however, are on board with election denialism. And some U.S. House Republicans, according to Politico's Sarah Ferris, have "signed a bipartisan pledge to uphold the results of the 2024 election."

More than 30 lawmakers serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Ferris reports, signed the pledge. Most were Democrats, but a "half dozen" were Republicans — including Rep. Don Bacon (R-Nebraska), who organized the effort with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-New Jersey).

Other House Republicans who signed the pledge included Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon, and Reps. Mike Lawler, Nick LaLota and Anthony D'Esposito of New York State.

Bacon, in an official statement, said, "In America, we respect election results, especially once the courts and appeals work through the process. We fight hard to win during campaigns and then respect the results when the votes are counted."

Ferris notes that Trump "has continued to insist that he did not lose the election in 2020" and has been "stoking fear that he may again encourage his supporters to block certification of the election next January if he loses for a second time."

"None of the six Republicans who signed the pledge voted against certifying the 2020 election on January 6, 2021," the Politico reporter observes. "Several of them were not yet in office. A total of 139 House Republicans did vote against certifying President Joe Biden's victory.

*Read Politico's full article at this link.

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an 7 24

Just as some Republican election officials across the nation assisted Donald Trump with his attempt to overturn the 2020 election, "at least 70" of the former president's allies are expected to do the same in November, according to results from an investigation by Rolling Stone published Monday.

Per Rolling Stone, "Republicans have refused to certify election results at least 25 times since Trump lost the 2020 election to President Joe Biden."

The publication reports:

*Rolling Stone and American Doom compiled its list of election denying election officials by culling media reports about refusals to certify results and other denialist behavior — and by searching the social media profiles of hundreds of election officials in the six swing states.

*The investigation revealed hundreds of posts from officials expressing belief in lies about the 2020 election and skepticism about November, as well as myriad posts about every right-wing culture war issue and conspiracy theory imaginable — a veritable stew simmering with the toxicity of the online American right.

"'I think we are going to see mass refusals to certify the election' in November," Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias told Rolling Stone. "Everything we are seeing about this election is that the other side is more organized, more ruthless, and more prepared."

In partnership with American Doom — 'a newsletter that focuses on right-wing extremism and other threats to democracy" — Rolling Stone "compiled its list of election denying election officials by culling media reports about refusals to certify results and other denialist behavior — and by searching the social media profiles of hundreds of election officials in the six swing states."

Pickens County, Georgia election official Larry Brown posted, "I don’t trust the runoff," just "two weeks after the 2020 election, as Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock faced Republican Kelly Loeffler in a runoff."

Additionally, Gwinnett County, Georgia official David Hancock wrote on Facebook earlier this year: "At this moment there are NO guidelines on what is required to certify an election in Georgia. But some of us are working to change that. Stand by."

Rolling Stone also notes:

*On June 11, Republican Clara Andriola, who was expelled from her local party for not towing the line on election denialism, faced off against Mark Lawson, a former firefighter who was fired for possession and distribution of steroids and who has questioned the results of the 2020 election. Andriola won, but local Republicans cited problems with mail-in ballots — and a bizarre claim about someone in a vote-counting room with a thumb drive — as evidence of fraud. On June 21, Washoe County commissioners Michael Clark and Jeanne Herman, both Republicans, voted against certifying the results of the primary. Andriola voted with the commission’s two Democrats to certify results, which showed her beating Lawson by 1,725 votes.

Per the publication, Elias "believes the findings in this investigation only represent 'the tip of the iceberg,' because Republicans 'are counting on not just that they can disrupt the election in big counties, they are counting on the fact that if they don’t certify in several small counties, you cannot certify these statewide results.'"

*Rolling Stone's full report is available here(subscription required).

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7 24 kari lake beats sheriff mark lamb in primary and

A Republican election official who has been overseeing the voting process in Arizona's most populous county for the last four years was just voted out in Tuesday night's GOP primary.

The Associated Press called the race Wednesday morning, with Republican state representative Justin Heap in a comfortable lead over incumbent Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. Don Hiatt, another GOP challenger, placed third. According to NBC News, Heap had the backing of MAGA aligned GOP Senate nominee Kari Lake, who continues to insist that former President Donald Trump was the true winner of the 2020 election. She has also refused to acknowledge her loss in the 2022 gubernatorial election, in which Democrat Katie Hobbs won by roughly 17,000 votes statewide.

"I am endorsing Justin Heap for the Maricopa County recorder because we want honest elections,” said Lake last month. “We need a heap of honesty in our elections.”

After the GOP primary results were announced, both moderate conservatives and independents mourned Richer's loss. 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang tweeted that Richer losing the primary was a "terrible sign for the AZ Republican Party," and noted that he "stood up for election integrity despite threats and attacks."

"Much love and gratitude to Stephen Richer and the rest who took abuse for doing their jobs with integrity in Maricopa County," tweeted Bulwark podcast host Tim Miller.

Richer was an outlier in the modern Republican Party, given his commitment to overseeing fair elections and not trafficking in election conspiracies in the midst of threats from the MAGA faction of the GOP. Maricopa County Republican Party vice chair Shelby Busch said in June that she would "lynch" Richer, and refused to walk back the comment, saying it was made "in jest." Richer condemned Busch for the remark in an interview with AZFamily.com.

“If lynching is in your vocabulary you need to have a heart to heart with yourself,” Richer said. “That shouldn’t be in your vocabulary given the history of that term and it shouldn’t be on your vocabulary to say about anyone you with whom you disagree.”

In a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter) after his loss was announced, Richer pledged to use the remaining few months in his position to ensure that either Heap or Democratic nominee Timothy Stringham would be able to have a smooth transition into their new role. He added that he would work to "ensure the continued efficient and lawful execution of my duties in recording, voter registration, and mail voting."

"Elections have winners and, sadly, losers. And in this one, it looks like I'm going to end up on the losing side of the column," Richer tweeted. "But that's the name of the game. Accept it. Move on."

Click here to read NBC's report in full.

READ MORE:['Chaos': GOP officials in AZ county cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands in election fights

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