Step 1: Election results. Step 2: Lawsuits? Across the U.S., top lawyers are prepared
ATLANTA – Across the country, state attorneys general, campaign lawyers, and election-related groups have been gearing up for what could be a flood of lawsuits over the election results.
Even before the election, courts in battleground states have seen a series of lawsuits over state voter registration lists, last-minute election rule changes, the requirements for counting mail-in ballots, and whether local counties have to certify results. The founder of one frequent litigator that has challenged registration lists, United Sovereign Americans, told Paste BN in October it was already planning to sue after results are announced.
In an October internal memo obtained by Paste BN, lawyers for the Harris campaign and the Democratic National Committee said they have been gearing up for post-election court battles ever since former President Donald Trump tried to overturn President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.
"We have been planning for four years to win not only at the ballot box but also in court, and to ensure another free and fair election," wrote Dana Remus and Monica Guardiola, lawyers with senior roles in the Harris campaign and Democratic National Committee, respectively.
Claire Zunk, communications director for the Republican National Committee's election integrity initiative, described the Republican election litigation operation as an "unprecedented" commitment to safeguarding legal votes.
"With over 230,000 volunteers to Protect the Vote, this is the most robust election integrity operation the party has ever seen," Zunk said in a statement to Paste BN.
Attorneys general describe country on edge
Several lawyers who spoke to Paste BN about 2024 legal preparations pointed to Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 results as an important factor. Those efforts culminated in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters.
"We needed to be ready because there are people who, no matter what the election outcome is, they're going to claim (victory)," said Keith Ellison, Minnesota's Democratic attorney general.
Ellison said his office has been preparing for various contingencies, such as a local county refusing to certify results. Local certification is part of the process for confirming and formalizing state election results.
Since 2020, dozens of local county officials across the country have delayed certification or refused to certify. However, none of those efforts has actually overturned a result so far. In October, a Georgia judge ruled that county officials in his state must certify results by their deadline, which falls on Nov. 12 this year.
A majority of the election board for Reno, Nevada's Washoe County voted against certification in two local elections in July, although some reversed course and the election was certified about a week later.
Nevada Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford told Paste BN certification is just one of the issues his office is making sure it's ready to litigate after Election Day. The state has already seen litigation from Republican-affiliated groups over voter registration lists and the deadline for the state to receive mail-in ballots.
"No one contemplated, I don't believe, what happened in 2020," Ford said. "We're a lot more prepared this time."
Asked by Paste BN at a Tuesday press conference about his preparation for potential post-Election Day lawsuits, Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said his office is "battle tested" and has a process in place.
Voting rights groups readying
Longstanding voting rights groups have also been gearing up for what could be a new litigation landscape after Election Day.
Damon Hewitt, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said the committee represented the NAACP in 15 cases between the 2020 Election Day and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. He sees lawsuits in Georgia on county certification and whether thousands of poll workers would suddenly have to hand-count ballots in this year's election as "dress rehearsals" for what could be coming in court after Tuesday.
"We cannot afford to let this be a Republican versus Democrat or a candidate versus candidate thing," Hewitt said.
Stephanie Owens, senior advisor for voting rights for the NAACP, said the national organization has taken some legal action ahead of the election, including intervening in a lawsuit over the hand-count rule. The Georgia Supreme Court decided not to weigh in on the issue ahead of Tuesday after a trial court concluded the rule was unlawful.
"There are several actions that we have taken and continue to take with our partners, mostly preemptive, to ensure that we don't have to have as many of these fights on Election Day and beyond," Owens said.
'F*** around and find out': Nevada AG's warning on election violence
Nevada Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford said his office isn't just preparing for potential lawsuits – it's also readying to tackle any political violence in the wake of the election.
Governors in several states, including Nevada Republican Governor Joe Lombardo, activated the National Guard to be ready to support local law enforcement on Election Day. Local offices have prepared to protect election workers with panic buttons and bulletproof glass.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner issued a stark warning Monday to anyone considering getting violent during the election.
"I also wanna be clear, anybody who thinks it's time to play militia, F around and find out," Krasner said.
Ford echoed that message on Tuesday.
"I'm going to say what has been said in Philadelphia, excuse my French, but let them f*** around and find out," Ford told Paste BN. "We will, in fact, prosecute those who violate the law when it comes to voter intimidation."