Preparing For Trump’s Next “Big Lie,” with the Election Lawyer Marc Elias
Sep 9, 2024
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Marc Elias, an attorney renowned for his pivotal role in contesting 2020 election lawsuits, joins to discuss the perilous rise of election denial as the 2024 election looms. He shares his concerns about the enhanced competence of Trump's team and the sway of election-denying officials in critical swing states. Elias warns of the potential for a more effective assault on democracy, predicting that Trump will claim victory across all states post-election, emphasizing that this is a hallmark of Trump's behavior.
Marc Elias highlights that Trump's election-denying tactics could be more efficient in 2024 due to empowered officials in swing states.
Despite past victories in court, Elias expresses deep concerns about the integrity of future elections amid rising legal challenges and misinformation.
Deep dives
The Landscape of Election Denial
Election denial has become a prominent strategy for Donald Trump, who has consistently claimed elections are rigged when he does not win. His rhetoric surrounding elections has evolved, from declaring the 2016 election was rigged until he emerged victorious, to contesting the legitimacy of the 2020 election immediately after losing. Legal challenges became his main tactic to undermine the electoral process, which were largely countered by attorney Mark Elias, known for successfully defeating Trump's claims in court. However, Elias expresses concern about the implications for upcoming elections, noting that election-denying officials now hold power in key swing states, potentially exacerbating the challenges to a fair electoral process in 2024.
Changes in Election Administration
The integrity of election administration is under threat, with many competent election officials being replaced by individuals who deny the legitimacy of elections. This concerning trend could lead to manipulated election outcomes, as demonstrated by recent incidents in which local officials attempted to refuse certification of election results. Legal measures have often compelled certifiers to uphold their responsibilities, but changes in rules, such as those proposed by Georgia's state election board, risk undermining this critical process. The new rule changes are viewed as insidious, potentially allowing local officials excessive discretion to investigate results prior to certification, jeopardizing the bipartisan tradition of safeguarding election integrity.
Anticipating Election Challenges in 2024
Looking ahead to the 2024 election, there are heightened concerns about the potential for mass voter challenges, significantly increasing the stakes for voter access and rights. States are witnessing unprecedented volumes of legal challenges aimed at restricting voting processes, reflecting a coordinated effort by some political factions to sow doubt in electoral outcomes. The legal landscape is evolving, with opposition parties gearing up for a much larger scale of legal conflict compared to 2020, indicating a more aggressive approach to voter suppression. With a looming prospect of Trump's declaration of victory before votes are fully counted, the upcoming election could see a similar atmosphere of uncertainty and contention, diverging sharply from previous democratic norms.
Of the sixty-five lawsuits that Donald Trump’s team filed in the 2020 election, Democrats won sixty-four—with the attorney Marc Elias spearheading the majority. Elias was so successful that Steve Bannon speaks of him with admiration.
Now Marc Elias is working for Vice-President Kamala Harris’s campaign, and, despite his past victories, Elias says that 2024 is keeping him up at night. The bizarre antics and conspiracy theories of Rudy Giuliani are a thing of the past, Elias tells David Remnick: “We should all expect that they are more competent than they were before. And also Donald Trump is more desperate than he was before. … He faces the prospect of four criminal indictments, two of which are in federal court.” Election-denying officials are now in power in many swing states; Trump has publicly praised his allies on state election boards. Elias fears the assault on the democratic process could be much more effective this time. Still, some things don’t change. “I believe Donald Trump is going to say after Election Day in 2024 that he won all fifty states—that there’s no state he didn’t win,” Elias says. “That is just the pathology that is Donald Trump.”