ELECTION INTEGRITYNo, Local Election Officials Can’t Block Certification of Results – There Are Plenty of Legal Safeguards
Some local election officials have refused to certify election results in the past few years, and worries abound that election officials might subvert the results of the 2024 presidential election by refusing to certify the results. But there isn’t one weird trick to steal a presidential election. And there are ample safeguards to ensure ballots are tabulated accurately and election results are certified in a timely manner.
Some local election officials have refused to certify election results in the past few years. Georgia has new administrative rules that invite election officials to investigate results before certifying. And worries abound that election officials might subvert the results of the 2024 presidential election by refusing to certify the results.
While states may have different names or processes, certifying an election typically looks something like this: On election night, the local precincts close, and local election workers tabulate the vote; they affirm or attest that the precinct results are the proper tabulation and send those results to the county.
In a matter of days, the county election board assembles the results across all the county’s precincts, tabulates them and certifies the county’s result. Those results are sent to the state election board, which adds up the results from all the counties and certifies the state’s winners. The governor then signs certificates of elections for the winning candidates.
There isn’t one weird trick to steal a presidential election. And there are ample safeguards to ensure ballots are tabulated accurately and election results are certified in a timely manner.
It’s Just Arithmetic
Certifying an election is a rather mundane task. In law, it is often called a “ministerial” obligation, which means it does not involve individual discretion. It is little more than making sure all precincts have reported and the arithmetic is correct. But it is an important task, because it is the formal process that determines who won the most votes.
Election officials typically carry out this obligation with little fanfare. But in recent years, some election officials have questioned the election results. Some officials have wondered whether the voting machines that tabulate votes were functioning correctly, or they wanted to investigate other aspects of the election. At the certification stage, however, election officials do not have that power.
If there are major questions about the election, the power to investigate them lies elsewhere. Other election officials verify absentee ballot signatures or calibrate ballot tabulation machines well before the election, a task typically open to public viewing.
A losing candidate might file an election contest in court to challenge the results of the election, and a court can take evidence and hear the legal dispute. Certification, in contrast, is a simple and ministerial task.
