Transcript reveals Georgia’s pursuit of alternate electors, mirroring JFK-Nixon contest in 1960.

Georgia Alternate Electors Challenge Election Results, Facing​ Criminal Charges

A transcript⁤ of the ⁣Dec. 14, 2020, meeting of the Georgia alternate electors shows that the⁤ group convened following the advice of President ​Donald Trump’s legal counsel, seeking​ to emulate a 1960 challenge to election results in Hawaii by then-Vice President Richard ‌Nixon.

Alternate electors ‍David Shafer, former‍ chair of ⁤the Georgia Republican Party, and ‌Cathy Latham were among the 19 indicted for challenging the ⁤2020 election results in Georgia. Prosecutor Fani Willis, the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia, ⁣said that these actions constituted a “criminal‌ racketeering ​enterprise” and conspiracy to defraud⁤ citizens of their vote.

The 98-page indictment names the electors, President Trump, the attorneys who advised the president​ and electors in 2020, and several others who spoke to election⁣ witnesses during the challenge of the vote. In total, the 19 individuals ⁢were​ charged​ with violating the⁤ state’s Racketeer Influenced and ⁢Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act,⁢ in⁤ addition to 40 other charges.

“We’re going to conduct this in accordance with the ‍Constitution of the‌ United States, so we’re going to conduct the electorate today similar to what happened in 1960 in Hawaii,” attorney Ray Smith said in the Dec. 14, 2020, meeting, according to transcripts obtained by The Federalist.

The charges against the alternate electors include allegedly impersonating public ‍officers, arguing that⁣ they hadn’t legitimately held ⁤the⁤ contingent elector roles. Mr. Shafer has⁤ argued, in his notice to remove ⁢his case to federal court, that he had called the Dec. 14, 2020, meeting to cast the votes⁤ specifically to adhere to the legal‍ requirements demanded of an alternate slate of electors. He argued‌ that he sought counsel from the president’s legal team, who then ‌explained the legal requirements to the alternate electors. The transcript, which was in ​Mr. Willis’s possession,⁤ shows much ⁣the ​same.

“We’re conducting⁤ this because the contest of​ the election in Georgia is ongoing. And so we ⁣continue to contest the election‍ of the electors in Georgia,” Mr. Smith said after Mr. Shafer introduced him at the meeting.

President‍ Trump‍ had filed a lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Dec. 4, 2020, ⁢alleging that tens of thousands of⁢ illegal votes were ‍cast. A​ recount took place after ‌that, which resulted ‍in the 11,779-vote lead that ⁢Joe Biden held in ​the state, which would give him Georgia’s 16 electoral votes when the electors were⁣ to cast them on ‍Dec. 14, ​2020.

President Trump’s legal challenge was still ‍pending in court⁤ as the date drew near. In‌ order for the challenge to continue past Dec. 14,​ 2020, two slates‌ of electoral ballots needed⁢ to‌ be cast.

“The President has filed a contest to the certified returns. That contest⁣ is pending,” Mr. ⁣Shafer said at the meeting. “It’s not​ been decided or even heard ⁤by any judge with the authority to hear it. And so in order to preserve his rights, it’s‌ important ​that the ⁢Republican nominees for presidential elector meet⁢ here today and cast their votes.”

Emulating ⁤1960 Procedures

In ​1960, Democrat John F. Kennedy won⁣ Hawaii by a narrow margin of just​ 115 votes. Both Democrat and Republican officials sought a recount, which then ⁢gave Mr. ⁣Nixon, a Republican, a 141-count lead.

The result was challenged and pending in court ​as the deadline to cast the electoral votes drew near. As a result, on Dec. 19, 1960, the deadline, both the official Republican slate of ⁢electors and​ the contingent Democrat slate of electors cast their ⁢votes.

On Jan. 6, 1961,​ then-Vice President Nixon ‌presented both slates of electoral votes. Then, he ⁤certified his own loss.

“In order not to delay the further count of the electoral vote here, the Chair, wit