State officials say lawyers ready to compel county election officials to swiftly certify vote if needed

Officials in battleground states say lawyers are ready on this Election Day to pursue legal action against any counties who try to disrupt or delay the vote certification process. 

The warnings come after a few counties in Arizona, Pennsylvania and New Mexico initially did not certify results or did so with incomplete tallies following the 2022 midterm elections, according to Politico. 

“If you don’t certify an election at the county level, or certify a canvas, you’re going to get indicted,” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told Politico. “We’ve sent, on top of that, some what I would call sternly-worded letters out to folks to let them know.” 

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson also said that lawyers have prepared draft legal filings in order to sue any county that tries to avoid certifying this year’s results. 

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A voter drops off an absentee ballot as election workers process absentee ballots at Portland City Hall on Monday, Nov. 4, in Portland, Maine.  (AP/David Sharp)

“We’ve got great attorneys that we’re working with at the attorney general’s office, who are prepared as well, who were there in 2020 and ready to go,” Benson told Politico. “It’s more about just making sure we’re able to rapidly respond and are prepared to ensure that the law is followed.” 

During the last presidential election, former President Trump urged two members of Michigan’s Wayne County Board of Canvassers not to certify the results, according to a report from The Detroit News. 

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Allegheny County Elections Assistant Division Manager Chet Harhut carries a container of mail-in ballots from a secure area at the Allegheny County Elections Division warehouse on Oct. 30 in Pittsburgh. (AP/Matt Freed)

In September, during an event hosted by the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research, Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for the Georgia secretary of state’s office, said, “There are those who think they can magically hold up everything by one county… That is not going to happen, and the courts won’t allow for that,” according to Politico. 

“With the system we have in place, with the lawyers we have in place, we have game-planned a lot of this out,” he reportedly added. 

A person arrives to cast their early ballot on the last day of early voting in Michigan at a polling station in Lansing on Nov. 3. (Reuters/Carlos Osorio)

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State election officials tell Politico that local officials are duty-bound to certify results and the task is not optional.