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State officials say lawyers ready to compel county election officials to swiftly certify vote if needed

State officials say lawyers ready to compel county election officials to swiftly certify vote if needed

Officials in battleground states say lawyers are ready on this Election Day to pursue legal action against any counties who try to disrupt or delay the vote certification process.  The warnings come after a few counties in Arizona, Pennsylvania and New Mexico initially did not certify results or did so with incomplete tallies following the 2022 midterm elections, according to Politico.  “If you don’t certify an election at the county level, or certify a canvas, you’re going to get indicted,” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes told Politico. “We’ve sent, on top of that, some what I would call sternly-worded letters out to folks to let them know.”  Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson also said that lawyers have prepared draft legal filings in order to sue any county that tries to avoid certifying this year’s results.  LIVE UPDATES: AMERICA TO DECIDE THE NEXT PRESIDENT TODAY  “We’ve got great attorneys that we’re working with at the attorney general’s office, who are prepared as well, who were there in 2020 and ready to go,” Benson told Politico. “It’s more about just making sure we’re able to rapidly respond and are prepared to ensure that the law is followed.”  During the last presidential election, former President Trump urged two members of Michigan’s Wayne County Board of Canvassers not to certify the results, according to a report from The Detroit News.  LEGAL CHALLENGES THAT COULD IMPACT THE VOTE BEFORE ELECTION DAY BEGINS  In September, during an event hosted by the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research, Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for the Georgia secretary of state’s office, said, “There are those who think they can magically hold up everything by one county… That is not going to happen, and the courts won’t allow for that,” according to Politico.  “With the system we have in place, with the lawyers we have in place, we have game-planned a lot of this out,” he reportedly added.  State election officials tell Politico that local officials are duty-bound to certify results and the task is not optional. 

Trump slams Pelosi as ‘evil, sick, crazy,’ but stops short of profanity: ‘It starts with a B’

Trump slams Pelosi as ‘evil, sick, crazy,’ but stops short of profanity: ‘It starts with a B’

Former President Donald Trump blasted former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., just stopping short of calling her an obscenity. During remarks at a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the 2024 GOP presidential nominee called Pelosi a “crazy, horrible human being” and a “crooked person.” “She’s an evil, sick, crazy,” Trump said, seemingly sounding out the first letter of the word he had in mind, while stopping just short of uttering the obscenity. “It starts with a B, but I won’t say it. I wanna say it.” TRUMP SAYS GOODBYE TO ‘BIG BEAUTIFUL RALLIES’ IN LAST EVENT BEFORE ELECTION He also referred to Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., as “Adam shifty Schiff” and “pencil neck,” saying that the congressman is “an unattractive guy” on the inside and outside. During a recent appearance on MSNBC, Pelosi claimed that Trump is suffering “cognitive degeneration” and would not be capable of serving a four-year presidential term. She said that those thinking of voting for Trump “have to know that he can’t last as president for four years with his brain deteriorating at the rate that it is … and they may be voting for President Vance, which would be a horrible thing for our country.” HARRIS, TRUMP CONCLUDE CAMPAIGNING — NOW IT’S UP TO THE VOTERS AS ELECTION DAY 2024 GETS UNDERWAY Trump campaign national press secretary Karoline Leavitt blasted Pelosi in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The only thing deteriorating is Nancy Pelosi who is a decrepit washed up corrupt politician who America can no longer stand,” Leavitt said in the statement. “She should go back to the City of San Francisco, which she has totally destroyed, and never return.” TRUMP GETS LAST-MINUTE ROUND OF BIG-NAME ENDORSEMENTS INCLUDING JOE ROGAN, SON OF ROBERTO CLEMENTE CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Pelosi, who is currently seeking re-election, has been serving in Congress for more than three decades. She took office in mid-1987.

Abortion ‘on the ballot’ in 10 states this election, but it might not matter

Abortion ‘on the ballot’ in 10 states this election, but it might not matter

Voters in 10 U.S. states will decide on major ballot initiatives this year that either expand or restrict abortion access for women, a highly polarizing issue but one that some advocacy groups do not believe will affect turnout quite as much as some had expected.  It’s unclear to what extent this could impact Vice President Harris, who has focused heavily on abortion access and reproductive rights in her bid for the presidency. In the final race to Election Day, some doubt the issue has lasting power to turn out voters to the same degree it did during the 2022 midterm elections, held just months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. “I think Democrats are dramatically overestimating the power of abortion,” Shawn Carney, president of the pro-life nonprofit group “40 Days for Life,” told Fox News in an interview.  ‘KAMALA ERA’: DNC LAUNCHES TAYLOR SWIFT-THEMED CAMPAIGN IN PITCH TO YOUNG VOTERS The nonprofit has a grassroots presence in all 50 states and has canvassed heavily in the 10 states that will vote directly on abortion-related measures this year: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New York, Nevada and South Dakota. The majority of these ballot measures seek to amend efforts passed in Republican-led states, whose leaders moved to restrict abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision on Roe. Notable policies will be on the books in Missouri, where voters will have the option to reverse the state’s near-total ban, and Arizona, where voters can amend the state constitution to allow abortions through the 24-week mark. The most populous state deciding on abortion measures is Florida, home to more than 13 million registered voters. Voters there will decide whether to lift an existing law that bans abortions after six weeks and instead extend it to the point of fetal viability between 23 and 24 weeks. “I think we have the best chance to win in Florida,” Carney said, citing the popularity in the state of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican and staunch advocate of pro-life issues. “We have a great presence in Florida. We have great ‘40 Days’ campaigns throughout that great state.” SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS PENNSYLVANIA PROVISIONAL BALLOT RULING, IN A MAJOR LOSS FOR GOP Harris and other Democrats have worked to highlight the new risks to abortion access women face. But it’s not clear what impact this will have on turnout in a presidential election dominated by economic issues and immigration. Former first lady Michelle Obama dedicated most of her stump speech at a Harris rally last week in Kalamazoo, Mich., to outlining the many ways women could see their reproductive rights diminished further. “Your niece could be the one miscarrying in her bathtub after the hospital turned her away,” Obama told the audience. “Your daughter could be the one terrified to call the doctor if she’s bleeding during an unexpected pregnancy.” Importantly, voters in states where abortion is on the ballot will vote on it independently, meaning it is “decoupled” from their presidential vote and votes for down-ballot leaders. This means that some staunch pro-choice supporters could theoretically vote for Trump and Republicans in their states while also voting to support pro-life procedures.  This “decoupling” effort would indeed reflect public opinion that has shifted to support abortion. A Fox News poll conducted this year found that a record-high number of voters now say they support legalizing abortion in some form, including two-thirds who said they supported a nationwide law that would guarantee abortion access for women. Fifty-nine percent said they believe abortion should be legal in “all or most cases,” up from the previous high of 57% in September 2022.  But how much the issue of abortion will drive voter turnout this year – for those who are either for or against the new ballot measure – is unclear.  National polls have seen abortion ranked consistently by voters as the third-most important issue in the 2024 election cycle, behind immigration and far behind the economy.  Just 15% of voters ranked abortion as their No. 1 priority in 2024, according to a recent Fox News poll, compared to immigration, which 17% of voters said they viewed as the No. 1 issue, and the economy, which a strong 40% of voters ranked as their top priority. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.