This Week: As Trump’s Legal Problems Mount, MAGA Supporters Continue their
Fight Against Free and Fair Elections
This week, former President Donald Trump and his lawyers went public with potential defenses in the criminal case against him for allegedly leading a failed coup attempt after he lost the 2020 presidential election. In a related investigation into Trump’s attempt “to overturn his 2020 election defeat” in Georgia, law enforcement appears to be preparing for a possible indictment by closing roads and installing security barriers around the Fulton County courthouse.
In the case stemming from whether Trump obstructed justice and willfully retained national security secrets at Mar-a-Lago, Trump pleaded not guilty to new charges added in a superseding indictment that he attempted to obstruct the investigation by trying to destroy evidence from a video surveillance system.
In Michigan, a federal judge dismissed a case filed by MAGA supporters “to decertify the 2020 presidential election and order a new one.” In another case in the state, a former state legislator and two other MAGA supporters were charged with illegally tampering with voting machines.
In Nevada, amid accusations of election irregularities by MAGA supporters, the Clark County Audit Department released a report concluding that the county properly handled 2022 mail-in ballots in accordance with state law.
In Arizona, the Mohave County Board of Supervisors voted down a proposal to hand-count ballots in 2024 after the county’s elections director said that numerous errors were made hand-counting ballots in a test run by the department.
In Georgia, despite the fact that hand-counting ballots is prone to errors, MAGA supporters are “ratcheting up the pressure” on the State Election Board to use paper ballots instead of the electronic voting machines purchased by the state in 2019.
In Texas, MAGA supporters “took the witness stand” in a trial aimed at overturning the 2022 election results in Harris County, which is a “Democratic stronghold,” based on claims of election irregularities.
In Wisconsin, a lawsuit was filed with the state Supreme Court challenging the most extremely gerrymandered state legislative districts in the country. The lawsuit aims to have district maps redrawn before 2024 elections.
In Arizona, MAGA supporters are suing to overturn a voter-approved referendum “designed to shine a light on ‘dark money’” by requiring public disclosure of anyone who gives at least $5,000 to political front groups.
Also in Arizona, failed attorney general candidate Abraham Hamadeh filed a third request for a new election trial after his last challenge was thrown out by a judge. Meanwhile, failed secretary of state candidate Mark Finchem is still challenging sanctions imposed by a Maricopa County Superior Court judge over false claims of election fraud after he “lost his race in November and refused to accept the results.”
