ATLANTA (AP) — Before the 2020 presidential election, certifying election results in the states was routine and generated little public attention. That has changed.
Attempts to delay presidential certification in Michigan in 2020 and primary results in New Mexico earlier this year have brought new scrutiny to a process that typically takes place quietly in the weeks after Election Day.
Members of certification boards have raised unsubstantiated claims of fraud or other wrongdoing, focusing new attention on a process that could be manipulated if either side didn’t like an election outcome.
Whether partisan actors might try to block or delay certification at the local or state level is a growing concern among election officials, both for the upcoming November midterm voting and then the 2024 presidential election. Here is how election officials prepare for certification, who is involved and what might happen if a county refuses to certify its results.