“I don’t have time to figure out if this is right or this is wrong,” Andriola remembers thinking at the time. Maybe it was best to “let it go to people who have the authority, jurisdiction & time to do it right.”

And so she voted no. As far as anyone could determine, it was the first time since #Nevada became a state in 1864 that a county there had refused to #certify an #election.

The commissioners’ duty to #certify, though, was entirely “ministerial” — #election #certification was not an endorsement of the process or the outcome, merely another step in passing the results up through the system. They were legally obligated to certify even if they did see problems. They could note clerical errors—the rules vary from state to state—but once they noted them, they still had to pass the results up the line. This was just the basic admin work of running a #democracy.

The stories did not add up to any clear theory…, but the community had come to believe that #democracy was threatened & that there was only one way to save it: They wanted Andriola to #vote w/her 2 #Republican colleagues to deny her own victory.

Andriola took her #legal duty to #certify #elections seriously, & the stakes of her decision reached…beyond #Nevada. Like thousands of admins around the country, #WashoeCounty commissioners are charged w/certifying elections…

The commission was required by #law to #certify elections…, from local primary to presidential #election. What came next should have been a simple administrative procedure.

But the…crowd had other ideas. For 3hrs, they told stories of a primary gone wrong. Some raised concerns about small bureaucratic errors, like improperly addressed ballots. Others shared more exotic allegations, incl’g an unsubstantiated rumor circulating on #X about a Serbian scheme to manipulate voting machines.

#DavidHancock, an #election official in Gwinnett County, just outside #Atlanta, is at the center of the #certification refusal movement in his state.

"At this moment there are NO guidelines on what is required to #certify an election in #Georgia," Hancock wrote on his FB page in late May. "But some of us are working to change that. Stand by."

"I think we are going to see mass refusals to #certify the #election" in November, says #Democratic election #lawyer @marcelias. "Everything we are seeing about this election is that the other side is more organized, more ruthless, & more prepared."

#Certification of #election results is what #legal experts consider a "ministerial task," & one required by state & local #law. But as #Trump's #lies about the #2020election have taken hold, #Republicans nationwide have decided that certification provides them an opportunity to hear fraud allegations - & refuse to officially count their local #votes. Republicans have refused to #certify election results at least 25 times since Trump lost the 2020 election to President Joe #Biden.

In the swing states of #Arizona, #Georgia, #Michigan, #Nevada, #NorthCarolina, & #Pennsylvania, Rolling Stone & American Doom identified at least 70 pro-#Trump election #conspiracists currently working as county #ElectionOfficials who have questioned the validity of elections or delayed or refused to #certify results. At least 22 of these county #election officials have refused or delayed #certification in recent years.

When #election night comes in November, it will be up to thousands of local #ElectionOfficials to #certify election results in their counties. Among those election ofcls are scores of #Trump supporters who believe his #lies & #ConspiracyTheories about stolen elections - & will be in prime position to act on those beliefs to try to [illegally] aid his campaign in November.

If you think #Project2025 is #scary, take a look at #DonaldTrump's #Agenda47

If #reelected, Trump will "#cut #federal #funding for any #school or #program pushing #criticalracetheory or #genderideology" and create a new #credentialing #body to #certify #teachers who embrace “#patrioticvalues.”

https://www.advocate.com/politics/agenda47-donald-trump-project-2025

— President #JoeBiden needs to instruct the #archivist to #certify the #ratification of the #EqualRightsAmendment

If #PresidentBiden wants to ensure the #support from every #reasonable #American, he would order the #archivist to #certify the ratification of the #EqualRightsAmendment.

We need #laws not #executiveactions. #Certify the #EqualRightsAdmendment.