Harris is prepared for Trump’s election chaos – with Georgia poised to be ground zero | US News

If there is a ground zero for election trauma in the US, it is probably Georgia.

It was the state that gave us the election interference casethe Photo of Donald Trumpand your phone call to the secretary of state asking for more votes.

The Republican candidate is still among those facing charges — although the case has been paused pending an investigation by the Fulton County district attorney.

Courts in Georgia are still dealing with the elections.

Follow the latest US election updates

The legal challenges to the voting system are among more than 90 cases across America.

They were presented mainly by Republicans who claim that a flawed system needs to be restructured.

Democrats consider it political theater, orchestrated by Trumpdesigned to sow distrust and chaos.

They point to his repeated claims of “cheaters” as proof that he is laying the groundwork to challenge any Kamala Harris victory.

Both are bracing for lengthy legal challenges after the election.

Democrats are particularly focused on their expectation that Trump will prematurely claim victory on election nightand teams of lawyers to litigate a path to the presidency.

Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, announced that two million people have already voted early in the state.

Asked by Sky News whether Trump’s repeated allegations of fraud in the 2024 election process had been helpful, he responded that voters should direct any concerns to him.

“It doesn’t affect me,” he said. “I just keep putting my head down and doing my job. I think if people want to find out what’s really going on, just ask Brad.”

In recent days, a Georgia judge rejected as “illegal, unconstitutional and invalid” an attempt by Republicans to impose new practices in the electoral process.

They included manual vote counting and the right to examine any election-related documentation “prior to certification of results.”

Opponents said the documents could have involved anything from training manuals to election observer credentials – they dismissed the legal action as a spurious effort to undermine faith in the legitimacy of the election results.

Follow Sky News on WhatsApp

Keep up with the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News

Tap here

Janelle King, a Republican member of the Georgia State Board of Elections, supported legal challenges.

She, along with other Republicans on the board, which oversees state elections, were dubbed by Trump as “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory.”

Asked whether her actions encouraged disruptions and delays, she told Sky News: “I would say this is all hypothetical, as is his statement.

“There is nothing to indicate that this will happen.

“I think what makes people distrustful of elections is when we present a proposal for rules that we think will strengthen the electoral process, and then a judge who has no idea about our electoral process tells us that it is unconstitutional.

“This is what causes distrust in the electoral process.”

The electoral process

After the North American elections on November 5th, the counting of votes will designate the so-called “electors”, responsible for affirming the choice of voters in the respective states.

On December 17th, voters meet in their respective state chambers and register their vote for the chosen candidate.

By January 3, 2025, when the new Congress convenes, election certificates are sent to the Capitol.

On January 6, 2025, Congress meets to certify the election and declare who won the election.

On January 20, 2025 – Inauguration Day – the president-elect and vice-president-elect take the oath of office and become president and vice president of the United States.

Read more:
Trump goes to new extremes – but will this matter to voters?
Why the Trump biopic is an unwelcome surprise for his campaign

The dates are “critical points” in the process, subject to legal challenge.

A febrile political environment would raise the specter of the acrimony, protest and violence of the recent past.

At the very least, it would create uncertainty.

Ezra Rosenberg, director of the non-partisan Voting Rights Project, which exists to defend voting rights, told Sky News: “It could be that some of these lawsuits are being brought knowing that they are going to lose, and maybe they’re mounting some kind of challenge. post-election, I have no idea.

“What bothers me most is that we have placed a shred of uncertainty in the minds of eligible voters about whether or not they are about to vote and that simply should not be allowed.”