At least one in five potential Donald Trump voters representing battleground states in the electoral college have ties with his efforts to overturn the presidential election in 2020, with some even facing criminal charges for it, a new report detailed.
Concretely, out of the 94 Republicans designated as prospective voters in the seven battleground states in this election, eight are facing felony charges for signing false Electoral College certificates in the last presidential cycle, according to an analysis by POLITICO. Five others engaged in similar behavior but were not charged and six more played roles in challenging electoral results or promoting conspiracy theories, the outlet added.
Whether Trump would accept an eventual defeat is perhaps the largest doubt of the electoral process, with the former president saying on Sunday that he "shouldn't have left" the White House after his loss against Joe Biden. He also reiterated that he can only lose if there is fraud even though polls show an extremely close contest.
"It's a crooked country," Trump said. "They'll want to put you in jail because you want to make it straight. Think of it, think of it. They cheat in elections and you call them on it and they want to put you in jail."
Voters and officials alike have shown concern about post-election violence in recent studies. A survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research showed that about 40% of registered voters say they are fearful of a new attempt to overturn the election's results, with a similar share worried about legal efforts to do so. And about one in three also said they are "extremely" or "very" concerned about attempts by local or state election officials to stop the results from being tallied.
Moreover, authorities in Washingtonare quietly preparing for the possibility of heightened unrest. One House Democrat told Axios they are "extremely" concerned about violence and hired half a dozen state troopers to provide security at their election night event, a significant boost over past years.
Similarly, federal and local law enforcement are already ramping up security across D.C., according to Axios. The Secret Service confirmed to the news outlet that security enhancements have been made to the Capitol in the run-up to the certification of presidential electors on Jan. 6— including fencing erected around the Capitol complex.
The Capitol Police also performed a "casualty evacuation exercise" on Monday that involved landing three helicopters on the East Front of the Capitol.
Some Trump supporters have echoed the candidate's claims, with one quarter of them saying he should declare election results invalid and "do whatever it takes to assume office if he loses" in November, according to the 2024 PRRI American Values Survey.
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