A state judge in Wisconsin has made a decision in a case regarding a slate of electors for then-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
The judge denied a request to dismiss a civil case against the 10 fake electors and a pair of attorneys for the former president.
The ruling stems from a case involving an alleged attempt to rig the outcome of the 2020 election by submitting a slate of fake electors for Trump in seven targeted states that included Wisconsin — all states that President Joe Biden won.
“The fake elector scheme was part of Trump’s team’s efforts to keep the former president in power, and it was a key focus of the latest indictment against him. Federal prosecutors claimed in the indictment the fake elector scheme originated in Wisconsin,” The Hill reported.
“The suit in Wisconsin was filed by two Democratic electors and a voter, and it alleged the defendants were part of Trump’s conspiracy to stay in power. They are seeking $2.4 million and are asking the judge to bar the GOP electors from serving as electors again. One of the defendants, attorney Kenneth Chesebro, is understood to be one of the unnamed coconspirators mentioned in the federal indictment against Trump,” the outlet noted further.
Continuing, The Hill added: “Many GOP electors who submitted false certifications for Trump claim they thought they were signing the certificate in case the legal challenges were successful. The case is scheduled to go to trial just two months before the 2024 election, beginning Sept. 3, 2024, and lasting one month. The charges come after Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced felony charges against 16 Republicans in July related to the fake elector scheme in her state. All 16 pleaded not guilty.”
The ruling comes amid a survey showing Trump doing better this time around in many of the swing states he won in 2016 and lost in 2020.
According to early July to polling data from Echelon Insights, a survey “found that 48% of respondents in swing states would probably or definitely vote for Trump, compared to just 41% for Biden. Though Biden is narrowly favored overall by likely voters, with 43% favoring him compared to 42% for Trump, the Republican front-runner could win 270 Electoral College votes by seizing the swing states,” the Washington Examiner reported, adding:
Furthering the good news for Trump in the poll, it also found that the former president would perform better than Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), his primary Republican competitor, in a general election against Biden. In an election between DeSantis and Biden, the incumbent would receive 45% of the vote, compared to DeSantis’s 42%. He is just 1 percentage point ahead in swing states, with 44% compared to Biden’s 43%.
