At that point, the election would be determined by one vote per state. On January 6, 2025, when Congress opens the envelopes, there would either be enough electoral votes for Trump, or enough states with competing slates of electors or other forms of chaos to declare that neither candidate has reached the requisite 270 electoral votes. In other words, the radical right legislature that passed the law in the first place can easily and legally manipulate the result. For example, Senate Bill 202 (the Georgia law famous for prohibiting distribution of water to voters waiting in lines) less famously but more insidiously allows state officials to take over local election boards. On that day legislatures in at least some swing states that Democrats have won could use laws passed in the wake of the 2020 elections to invalidate the results and select a slate of electors for Trump. Liz Cheney, the encouragement of the Proud Boys… these are sometimes covered as random and disparate strands, rather than part of a plan that makes total sense once you know what the goal is.Īssuming Trump runs for president, he will likely make countless accusations of fraud - echoed by his supporters - between Election Day and December 16, 2024, the date electors in each state meet to formally vote for president and vice president. The endless repetition of the Big Lie, the sham audit in Arizona, the new voter suppression laws in 19 states, the demonization of mass media through the “fake news” mantra, the packing of the Supreme Court with Federalist Society-approved right-wing justices, the purging of Rep. For Trump and the GOP, most of these boxes are already checked, and most of the others are well underway. Now, let’s look back at these conditions for how a politician might subvert an election. A sizable minority of the population that believes deep down that Black people and immigrants are not “real” Americans, and that their votes should not determine the results of elections.Roving white nationalist militias that tout voter suppression and spread skepticism about the legitimacy of elections.Cynicism and confusion so deep that huge numbers of people don’t believe in facts of any kind.

Sufficient voter suppression to make the above plan unnecessary, or at least enough to make results close enough to sow even more doubt about legitimacy of results.

Widespread skepticism among voters about the idea that elections are run fairly (a skepticism that can be fed by the constant challenging of legitimate results by the loser of an election).Īnd here are some additional factors that could further assist a politician bent on stealing an election in this country:.

A compliant, complacent or cooperative Supreme Court.

Total loyalty from one’s political party and a cult-like allegiance from voters.

The ability to purge moderates who might not go along with the ending of democracy.

Control of the House of Representatives, and preferably both houses of Congress.

At least some swing-state legislatures radical enough to either a.) suppress voters sufficiently to achieve their preferred result b.) replace the Board of Election if it doesn’t arrange for the preferred candidate to win or c.) send a non-elected slate of electors for certification regardless of the election’s actual result.

Control over half of state legislatures (something that can be achieved through severely partisan gerrymandering and self-serving redistricting).

Given this oddity in our electoral process, here are some things that a politician would need in order to have a chance of subverting the U.S.

Subvert board