Defending Democracy? A Majority of Democrats Oppose Certifying a Trump Victory

(Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead)

While polls indicate that American voters will send Donald Trump back to the White House in November, recent reports suggest that Democrats are actively plotting to prevent that.

After the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that Colorado (or any other state) couldn’t remove Trump from their state ballot unilaterally, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) indicated that House Democrats would continue the fight.

“I am working with a number of my colleagues—including Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and Eric Swalwell—to revive legislation that we had to set up a process by which we could determine that someone who committed insurrection is disqualified by Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment,” he told CNN. “And the House of Representatives already impeached Donald Trump for participating in insurrection by inciting it so, the House has already pronounced upon that.”

Though such efforts aren’t likely to succeed, Democrats have another trick up their sleeve. According to a recent report from The Atlantic, senior House Democrats are considering refusing to certify his victory.

Despite the absurdity of their justification for doing so, it would create a disastrous constitutional crisis. Imagine what would happen if Democrats established the precedent that the majority party in the House could refuse to certify election results they didn’t like.

Would you believe that a majority of Democrats support such a scenario?

According to a new Rasmussen survey, a majority of Democrats would prefer Congress not to certify the results of the election if Trump wins.

“Some Democrats in Congress have said that if Trump wins this year’s election, they will vote against certifying the election results because of Trump’s role in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riots,” Rasmussen’s question began. “Do you support or oppose Democrats refusing to certify the election results if Trump wins?”

A whopping 57 percent said they supported the idea.

After the Supreme Court rejected attempts to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the ballot, a majority of Democratic voters now support another way to block Trump’s possible return to the White House.

A national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and The National Pulse finds that 35% of Likely U.S. Voters say, if Trump wins this year’s election, they would support Democrats in Congress refusing to certify the election results, including 20% who would Strongly Support such a move. 

However, a majority (55%) would oppose Congress members refusing to certify a Trump victory, including 44% who Strongly Oppose the idea. Another 10% are not sure.

Not only did a majority of Democrats endorse the efforts to remove Trump from state ballots, they now support denying the certification of his victory. Remember, the Democratic Party presents itself as the stalwart defender of democracy, yet their defense of “democracy” is only invoked when it coincides with their electoral triumphs.

If the Democratic Party is willing to disregard democratic norms and processes when they don’t suit their agenda, it erodes the foundation of the “democracy” they claim to defend. Their willingness to manipulate democratic mechanisms not only undermines public trust in the process but also presents a tangible danger of our nation sliding toward becoming a totalitarian state.