The ‘Safe Harbor’ Deadline For Election Results Has Arrived: Here’s What That Means For Trump’s Lawsuits

Topline

Tuesday marks the “safe harbor” deadline by which states can lock in their presidential election results with Congress before the Electoral College meets Dec. 14—but the deadline isn’t expected to stop the Trump campaign and Republican Party’s long-shot legal efforts to overturn President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. Here’s what the safe harbor deadline means for Trump’s post-election court fight:

Key Facts

Crucial Quote

“The doors close significantly after the safe harbor deadline passes,” Rebecca Green, codirector of William & Mary Law School’s Election Law Program, told BuzzFeed News. “It’s going to be a heavy lift to convince a judge to defy federal deadlines. I think it would only happen or be successful if some kind of wild evidence of just unbelievable scale were unearthed that was credible.”

What To Watch For

There are still a number of outstanding Trump campaign and GOP lawsuits targeting the election results, including both state and federal challenges in Wisconsin, attempts by Pennsylvania GOP candidates and the state of Texas to overturn the election results in the U.S. Supreme Court, and appeals of failed election lawsuits to state supreme courts in Arizona, Michigan and Nevada. Former Trump legal advisor Sidney Powell also still has outstanding litigation in Wisconsin and Arizona alleging voter fraud with Dominion Voting Systems machines, after her legal challenges in Georgia and Michigan have already failed. None of those challenges are likely to succeed, however, and Trump and his GOP allies have so far lost or withdrawn 49 post-election cases with only one win, according to Democratic Party attorney Marc Elias. After the Electoral College votes, it’s still possible that congressional lawmakers could challenge state vote counts when Congress finalizes the votes on Jan. 6, though those efforts are unlikely to succeed.

Key Background

The Trump campaign and the president’s allies have been waging a wide battle to contest Biden’s win in key battleground states, which has been completely unsuccessful thus far. While the strategy has largely focused on litigation, the president and his legal team have also directly appealed to state lawmakers and officials to overturn the election results by appointing their own electors and overturning the will of the voters. That strategy has also failed, with lawmakers in multiple states saying they will not take action against the election results.

Further Reading

Trump’s Desperate Effort To Overturn The Election Is Running Out Of Time (BuzzFeed News)

What ‘safe harbor day’ is and why it’s bad news for Trump (NBC News)

Safe harbor law locks Congress into accepting Biden’s win (Associated Press)