By Steve Levy
The article “Michigan judge dismisses charges against ‘fake’ electors” was published last week with very little fanfare.
But as I wrote over a year ago, the very bringing of the cases was a travesty. Even now, as illustrated in the headline, the mainstream media continues to spread the false narrative that these were “fake” electors.
In the history of our country, those objecting to the electoral process were always properly categorized as “alternative” electors. It’s a system embedded in the U.S. Constitution and federal law. Where state officials believe that there was chicanery in the electoral process, they have the legal authority to send to the electoral college a slate of electors who will refuse to certify the process, and, instead, make the claim that fraud was involved in the ultimate outcome.
This is not something that was unique to 2020. In 1876, various states objected to the process that gave Samuel Tilden the victory in the electoral count. The supporters of Rutherford B. Hayes sent their own slate of alternative electors to be prepared to issue a vote for Hayes once the congressional and judicial process of sorting out the allegations was complete. The matter was eventually settled in the Compromise of 1876, which gave Hayes the presidency.
In 1960, Democratic presidential candidate John Kennedy objected to the tally in Hawaii, which was originally won by Richard Nixon. His alternative slate was established. They were not called “fake” electors. Upon the recount, the state was given to Kennedy.
Never in our history before 2020 have these alternative electors been labeled “fake” electors and charged with a crime. It was absolutely disgusting that Biden‘s Justice Department and Democratic prosecutors teamed up with a willing liberal media to target those exercising this constitutional prerogative of creating alternative electors. They unjustifiably labeled the alternative electors as being part of an insurrection, thereby leading to the prosecution of everyday people who simply wanted their voices heard.
We’re not talking about rioters at the Capitol on January 6th. We’re talking about average citizens and campaign lawyers ready to appear at the electoral college to cast the vote for their candidate — if and only if the courts were to determine that the original count or process was invalid. (Had they not established the alternative slate of electors, they would not have the ability at the electoral college to vote for their candidate if a court indeed ruled that he had won the election in that state.)
As noted in the BBC article (linked above) on the court’s dismissal: “District Court Judge Kristen D Simmons dismissed forgery, conspiracy and other charges against the group and ruled they had legally exercised their constitutional rights.”
These people who were prosecuted were put through hell. Many of them were harmed economically, lost their jobs or were shunned from society. But now, without a whimper, a court has agreed that there was no merit to these prosecutions. Just as there was no merit in bringing charges against Trump‘s lawyers, from Rudy Giuliani to John Eastman, for giving their advice that President Trump could use the alternative elector process, just as Presidents Kennedy and Hayes did previously.
Now that these electors have won their case, we hearken back to Ray Donovan, a former Reagan Labor Secretary exonerated in a case brought against him, who asked after the trial: “Which office do I go to to get my reputation back?”
Steve Levy is President of Common Sense Strategies, a political consulting firm. He served as Suffolk County Executive, as a NYS Assemblyman, and host of “The Steve Levy Radio Show.” He is the author of “Solutions to America’s Problems” and “Bias in the Media.” www.SteveLevy.info, Twitter @SteveLevyNY, steve@commonsensestrategies.com