'Chaos and confusion': Report finds pro-Trump election deniers lurk in key voting boards

Pro-Donald Trump election deniers have been quietly embedded in nearly half of voting certification boards in battleground states' largest counties, according to a new analysis.

Reuters on Tuesday revealed its investigation of 35 county election boards — sampling the five largest in seven swing states — found 16 had at least one member who expressed pro-Trump skepticism about voting machines, mail-in ballots and the 2020 election result.

The skeptics include a Michigan Republican who called on Trump to challenge his 2020 defeat, a North Carolina board member who emailed legislators false voter fraud accusations, and six Pennsylvania officials who have voted against certifying election results, according to the report.

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“By sowing doubts at the county level about whether an election should be certified," said Nikhel Sus of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, "they are laying the groundwork to argue that if President Trump loses in a particular state, that the electoral slates from that state should not be counted."

A Trump defeat could trigger widespread certification delays past the federal deadline to certify state election results by Dec. 11 and create an opening for Republicans to challenge the results in Congress, election officials told Reuters.

Legal experts hope Congress and lawmakers will opt to adhere to election norms and rebuff another overturn attempt, the news outlet reported.

But they also fear the tensions sure to mount as the nation moves toward certifying results in Washington D.C.

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“It will be a period of chaos and confusion," predicted David Becker, founder of the Center for Election Innovation & Research. "That will be leveraged by grifters to raise money and incite anger and violence."

The battle for Election Day is being fought by Republican National Committee Trump loyalists — who say they've recruited 200,000 poll watchers to combat voter fraud — and state-level officials bracing their teams for trouble, according to the report.

"We’ll use any legal means necessary,” said Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D). “The election deniers, they don’t care what the law says.”

Michigan's Democratic Secretary of State, Jocelyn Benson, said she fears some board members may refuse to certify results, but feels better prepared than in 2020.

"We are more clear-eyed about what we're up against," Benson said, "and what we could be facing."

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