Seeking to continue to contest the result of the election, Trump doubles down on claims of election fraud

Three weeks. That’s how long it has been since Dec 14, when the presidential electors cast their votes and confirmed Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 Presidential Election. Since then, President Donald Trump has tweeted or retweeted claims of a fraudulent election a total of 106 times. Not once has he mentioned Biden being the rightful winner or taken steps to concede the election. 

Although he has lost, Trump and his supporters continue to perpetuate the belief that the election was subject to massive voter fraud, despite the overwhelming proof disproving that claim. In a tweet posted on Christmas Eve, Trump wrote, “VOTER FRAUD IS NOT A CONSPIRACY THEORY, IT IS A FACT!!!”

Recently, a growing number of Republican congress members have issued statements affirming their support for Trump, as well as their will to reject the confirmation of the electoral college vote and the certification of Biden’s win. 

Some high profile officials, such as Senators Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), have voiced their opposition to the certification of election results. A joint statement released by both Senators stated they made the decision to oppose the certification because “…support of election integrity should not be a partisan issue. A fair and credible audit—conducted expeditiously and completed well before January 20—would dramatically improve Americans’ faith in our electoral process and would significantly enhance the legitimacy of whoever becomes our next President.  We owe that to the People.”

However, not all congressional Republicans agree. For example, Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said Tuesday: “To challenge a state’s certification, given how specific the Constitution is, it would be a violation of my oath of office—that is not something I am willing to do and is not something Oklahomans would want me to do.” 

It’s not just high profile Republicans protesting the election results. According to a Quinnipiac University poll, 77 percent of Republicans say they believe there was widespread voter fraud present in the November election. The poll also showed that only 60 percent of the registered voters in the study believed that Biden’s win was legitimate. 

Regardless of public sentiment, there is no significant evidence of widespread voter fraud. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security agency (CISA) is a federal agency that operates under the oversight of the Department of Homeland Security, and therefore under Trump’s own administration. In a statement issued by the agency a week after the election, officials enforced that the election was “the most secure in American history.” 

These are unprecedented times. Many norms have been upended; faith in the integrity of the election should not be one of them.