President Trump’s unfounded claims of large-scale voter fraud have Democrats bracing for what they worry could be substantial interference by the federal government in the midterm elections. But with polls showing that Democrats are likely to win control of the House, some lawmakers and commentators have turned their attention to a different scenario that could unfold after the voting: Republicans in Congress, egged on by Mr. Trump, could try to block them from assuming the majority by refusing to seat elected Democrats.
The possibility sounds far-fetched and is regarded by many legal scholars as a vanishingly remote one. Kalt, a law professor at Michigan State University. But the same might have been said in 2020 of the possibility that Republican lawmakers, under pressure from Mr.
Trump, would challenge the Electoral College results that confirmed Joseph R. That is precisely what a majority of Republicans voted to do on Jan. 6, 2021, an effort in which Representative Mike Johnson, who has since become speaker, played a major role. That is among the reasons that two moderate House members, one from each party, have asked their colleagues to pledge to accept certified election results and block efforts to refuse or delay seating winners.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, said this month that his party was “preparing for all eventualities, including making sure that the results of the American people that emerge from the Nov. 3 general election are brought to life on Jan. 3 in the new Congress.” That is the day that the next Congress is scheduled to convene. Here’s a closer look at what could happen. The Constitution gives states the authority to administer their elections, and each one sends certificates of election verifying the winners to the House and Senate.
For decades, those certifications were part of a largely routine process, but since the 2020 election, a small number of state officials have voted against certifying elections or threatened to refuse to do so. Those efforts have been unsuccessful but at times have required other officials and courts to intervene. Two moderate House members, one from each party, have asked their colleagues to pledge to accept certified election results and block efforts to refuse or delay seating winners.Credit...Nicole Craine for The New York Times Some federal election experts believe that this could be the greatest pressure point for efforts to reverse or sow doubt about the midterm election results.
Democrats have said they are concerned that Mr. Trump has promoted false claims about election integrity to lay the groundwork for challenges to the counting, canvassing and certification of ballots. If races are not certified, seats could remain unfilled when the new Congress first meets, which could affect the balance of power in the House.
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