By Curt Devine, Lauren Fox, and Emily R. Condon, CNN
(CNN) — The chairman of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus suggested that legislators in the battleground state of North Carolina could potentially allocate their state’s electoral votes to Donald Trump before votes are counted because of the possible disenfranchisement of voters in Western North Carolina, a plan which state election officials called illegal and Republicans have criticized.
Reacting to a presentation from a pro-Trump activist who argued that North Carolina’s Republican-controlled legislature could give the state’s electoral votes to Trump due in part to complications from Hurricane Helene, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland said, “That makes a lot of sense.”
“But how do you make the argument in other states? I mean otherwise it looks like it’s just a power play,” Harris said. “With North Carolina, I mean, it’s legitimate. I mean there are a lot of people who aren’t going to get to vote, and it may make the difference in that state.”
The activist, Ivan Raiklin, who has previously pushed baseless theories about how the 2020 election was compromised, said during his presentation Thursday that because the hurricane had damaged many western counties, displaced some ballots and hindered the postal service, state legislators in North Carolina could decide the election. Raiklin posted video of his presentation and Harris’ comments on X.
Raiklin cited the Constitution’s Article II Section I Clause II, which says that each state is to appoint its electors. Earlier in his presentation, Raiklin called the process an option when legislators are “obligated to remedy” election issues.
“How do we enfranchise 25% of the state, re-enfranchise them? You run a joint session by the speaker of the House calling on it, the Senate majority leader calling on it, and then allocating your 16 electoral votes in North Carolina,” Raiklin said.
Harris said in a statement to CNN on Friday that a “theoretical conversation has been taken out of context,” but did not go so far as to say he disagreed with the idea.
“As I’ve repeatedly said, every legal vote should be counted,” Harris’ statement continued.
Asked by CNN on Thursday about proposals by far-right activists for legislators to award electors for Trump regardless of vote counts, the executive director of North Carolina’s election board called the plan a nonstarter. “What’s being proposed by these individuals is actually a violation of law,” said Karen Brinson Bell.
And despite concerns that hurricane damage could suppress turnout in Western North Carolina, state data suggests that voters have not been widely disenfranchised. In-person voter turnout is up by 0.5% overall compared to 2020 in the 25 counties in the storm’s disaster area, according to a spokesperson for the state’s election board. And on Wednesday, the day before Raiklin’s presentation, USPS put out a statement stating that all North Carolina processing facilities and most retail locations are open.
Republican officials, too, have criticized the idea.
North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry told reporters Friday, “It makes no sense whatsoever to prejudge the election outcome and that is a misinformed view of what is happening on the ground in North Carolina. Unfortunately. Bless his heart.”
And National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Richard Hudson, who is also from North Carolina said candidates should focus on turning out the vote.
“I haven’t spoken to Andy so I don’t know the full context of what he said. What I do know is we should be spending every waking moment getting North Carolinians out to vote so we can elect Donald Trump and grow our House majority. Let’s win at the ballot box,” Hudson said.
Vice President Kamala Harris reacted to the congressman’s comments Friday, saying, “America deserves to have leaders who respect the importance of one of the pillars and foundations of our democracy, which is free and fair elections, and that they are not manipulated by elected leaders for the sake of their own political future or their own political strategy for how they themselves want to succeed.”
The top Democrat of the Committee on House Administration also condemned his colleague’s comments.
“Extreme Republican leaders are openly advocating that North Carolina’s Electoral votes be given to Donald Trump without an election. For the first time in North Carolina’s history, voters could be denied their right to choose the President. This blood-chilling scheme, suggested by the Chair of the so-called House Freedom Caucus, is anti-American,” said Rep. Joe Morelle of New York.
Raiklin said during his presentation he wanted to give people “options to know what the enemy’s most dangerous course of actions are so that we can come up with strategies… to counter anything they may throw our way.” He suggested other state legislatures could also allocate their electors for Trump regardless of vote counts. He said his plan would guarantee “the reelection of the Republican nominee.”
Raiklin’s name emerged during congressional hearings related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol since he had posted a memo known as the “Operation Pence Card.” That memo argued that then-Vice President Mike Pence could block certification of the 2020 election results.
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