All 50 states and the District of Columbia have certified their presidential results. The electors will meet on Monday the 14th to officially vote. These votes will be transmitted to officials and counted in a joint session of Congress on January 6th.
Despite many efforts by President Donald Trump to overturn the election results, President-elect Joe Biden is expected to easily gain the required electoral votes necessary to officially win the 2020 election. Biden is projected 306 votes, while Trump is projected 232. 270 electoral votes is needed to win. A few faithless electors may alter the final numbers, but there’s not expected to be nearly enough to change the final result.
Failed Legal Challenges
Biden also won the popular vote by over 7 million votes. Despite this Trump and his campaign have continued to perpetuate baseless claims of voter and election fraud. So far no evidence of significant or systematic fraud has been found in court cases brought forward by the Trump legal team.
Courts, often judged by Trump appointees, have cited lack of proof or other legal shortcomings in each case. With certification complete the road to Trump overturning the vote through legal means has come to an end, save for one last attempt by Ken Paxton.
A New Lawsuit
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit directly to the supreme court asking they delay the electoral vote in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. It is very unlikely to succeed but represents yet another attempt to overturn the election by Republicans in the aftermath of the 2020 election.
According to Edward Foley of the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University such a delay in the vote in four states is unconstitutional. The constitution stipulations that the day the electors vote “shall be the same throughout the United States”. Groups of states can not be excluded or delayed from the process.
Paxton Under Investigation
Paxton is currently under FBI investigation for committing bribery, abuse of office, and other crimes to benefit Austin real estate developer Nate Paul, a wealthy donor. Former members of Paxton’s staff brought these claims to light. He is also facing indictment for unrelated securities fraud charges. There is growing speculation that Ken Paxton is implicitly fishing for a pardon, should one become necessary, from Trump. He has denied having such discussions with the President.
Trump and 17 States Join In
Nonetheless 17 states joined in the lawsuit. Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia. All were represented by Republican officials in the filing.
It seems unlikely that Trump will give up any time soon if his behavior on Twitter throughout the day is any indication. The President once again took to spouting many claims that have been debunked. He also joined in the lawsuit put forth by Paxton.