County board members in California and Colorado are contesting the certification of presidential election results due to election integrity concerns. In Shasta County, California, the board's chair and two supervisors voted to declare the election results "under duress. " However, two other supervisors certified the results without that statement. The county’s Registrar of Voters explained that while the board must declare the results, their declaration is not required for the results to be officially recognized. The supervisors had previously submitted the official results to the state, affirming under penalty of perjury that they were accurate.
This decision followed numerous voter complaints about issues such as ink overspray on ballots and problems with voting machines during the November elections. The board voted to send letters to the U. S. Department of Justice, requesting an investigation into the ink overspray problem, which may have led to thousands of ballot duplications. They also asked for clarification about changes to audit log timestamps on voting machines before the March 5 primary.
In Colorado, canvass board members in seven counties voted against certifying the 2024 general election results after the state’s Department of State inadvertently posted voting systems passwords online. Despite some Republican board members opposing the certification, the majority vote led to the election being certified in all counties. The state secretary of state asserted that the password leak did not pose an immediate security threat and that measures were being taken to address the issue.
Some states either prohibit or allow county boards to reject election certifications. Jason Snead from Honest Elections Project commented that the certification process is often routine, but fraud requires investigation, citing a situation in North Carolina's 2018 congressional race where a new election was called due to alleged fraud.
Michigan law mandates election certification, limiting the ability of county boards to refuse certification. In a notable case, the Delta County Board of Canvassers faced a deadlock when Republican commissioners were reluctant to certify results after controversial recall elections. They ultimately certified the results after being reminded of their legal obligations, which included potential consequences for failing to do so.
Following the controversies surrounding election certifications in 2020, Michigan's state officials have emphasized the duty of local canvassing boards to certify results. There are ongoing discussions about whether this law consolidates control over elections within state offices, particularly as it relates to Democratic officials following past incidents of board members withholding certification over concerns about election integrity.
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