US: Republicans and Election Distrust

Questioning the outcome of the election seeks to take advantage of division, one that has led to close results in recent elections.

With five months to go before the Nov. 5 election, Republicans appear to be questioning the reliability of the vote in what some denounce as a threat and a means by which to undermine democracy.

Indeed, former president and almost certain Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his allies have already signaled that they would not recognize the outcome of the election and warned of the possibility of violence if they lose.

The Republicans’ point relates to distrust of elections and the American electoral system based on allegations made by Trump and his associates surrounding the 2020 election. The narrow margins of victory helped to question the results, above all, in states such as Georgia or Arizona, but to date, four years later, they have not presented evidence of the alleged cheating.

On the contrary, serious accusations have been made against the whistleblowers.

But today, Trump and his “fraud” narrative own the Republican Party, where many have had to swallow their pride to backtrack on what they once said and align themselves with the former president.

In the U.S. system, each state is responsible for organizing the voting in its territory. To date, the Republicans have not substantiated their accusations and there are a series of lawsuits against people who tried to “correct” the results.

But that does not prevent Trump and his allies from maintaining the idea that the 2020 elections were fraudulent and appear, at least, to be preparing the ground for disregarding the 2024 results; partly also with the idea that they have the backing of armed right-wing groups that at various times have tried to pressure election officials with their presence.

Right-wing militant groups were involved in the attempted uprising on Jan. 6, 2021, when, after a rally led by then-President Trump, they stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the vote and Biden’s victory.

It may be recalled, as politico.com recently did, that Trump still maintains that then-Vice President Mike Pence had the constitutional authority to overturn the outcome of the 2020 election. The former vice president is literally cut off from his party for doing his job, as determined by the Constitution.

The attempt to question the outcome of elections from now on seeks to take advantage of the division in the country, one that has led to close results in the last elections. This is especially the case in states considered key, which can swing one way or the other due to small differences of votes, and in which, according to experts, election victory will be defined.

But it all points to, at the very least, the possibility of prolonged legal action by the Trump camp.