The once-routine process of certifying local election results has become an increasingly popular venue for pushing voter fraud claims, prompting state officials to brace for legal fights after ballots are cast this fall.
County-level GOP officials in New Mexico and Pennsylvania have clashed with state agencies in recent weeks by balking at certifying results from primary elections held this spring, citing concerns about Dominion voting machines and certain mail-in ballots.
Those incidents — reminiscent of former President Donald Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud in 2020 — have rattled some state officials and election experts who worry that more Republican-led election boards will follow suit in November.
“It’s a wake-up call to all secretaries of state,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, adding that he's discussed the issue with officials in other states.
“These recent episodes have certainly caused states to check the tools in their toolbox, to make sure that they have those tools and if not, to try to get them,” Simon, a Democrat, said in an interview with NBC News.
Minnesota state law requires that officials certify the highest vote getter, he said; after consulting with the state attorney general in the wake of the Otero incident in New Mexico, he believes the existing laws in his state are adequate to ensure the proper certification of results.
Rick Pildes, a constitutional law and elections expert at New York University School of Law, said...
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