Hey News-Changers,

Great news!! British grandmother Margaret “Maggie” Kennan just became the first person in the world to receive the Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccine outside of clinical trials. She’s “look[ing] forward to spending time with [her] family and friends in the new year” after spending most of 2020 alone. (I’m not crying, you’re crying.) The vaccine has been approved in the UK and Canada, and it’s currently under review in the US. Catch up on last week’s Breakdown for more vaccine info!

As the world passes this critical milestone, here in the US we’ve just passed a different key date: the electoral college “safe harbor” deadline. Keep scrolling to read about it and what it means for Trump’s efforts at overturning the 2020 election.

Let’s Do This,

Jackie

We Just Passed a Key Electoral Deadline, and Trump’s Efforts to Overturn the 2020 Election are Coming Up Short

What Is the Safe Harbor Deadline?

It’s a deadline for settling contested state electoral votes (through recounts, audits, etc.) before the electoral college meets.

This year, the electoral college will meet and cast their votes on Dec. 14. If a state finalizes its results (and subsequently, its electors) by the “safe harbor” deadline, then Congress is legally required to accept those results.

The safe harbor deadline passed yesterday (Dec. 8), and all states have certified their results, affirming President-elect Joe Biden’s victory.

Learn more about how the electoral college works and other election processes in our explainer.

So What About the Lawsuits?

The ongoing lawsuits from the Trump campaign and his allies can continue despite the safe harbor deadline, but their chances of overturning the election just got much, much harder.

At the state-level, there are only a few active lawsuits in a handful of states (some of which are appeals for cases that have already been dismissed or denied).

Despite assertions from the President and his team, Trump’s legal team has yet to provide legally solid evidence of widespread voter fraud in court -- and several state and federal judges’ rulings reflect that.

Will the Supreme Court Get Involved?

The Supreme Court has already denied to hear a lawsuit calling for all of Pennsylvania’s mail-in votes to be thrown out. (The argument in this lawsuit isn’t that voter fraud occurred, but that the state law that allowed for universal mail-in voting was unconstitutional.)

Most recently, the state of Texas has filed a lawsuit directly to the Supreme Court, asking to deny electoral votes from four key battleground states due to “unlawful” changes in their state election laws, leading to “significant and unconstitutional irregularities” (claims that have already been argued in court at the state-level and denied or dismissed as unfounded).

It’s a long-shot to say the least, but we’ll stay tuned to see if the Supreme Court takes up the case.

TAKE ACTION: Even post-election, you still have the power to hold your elected leaders accountable. Share your thoughts about how you want your newly elected representatives to stand up for your community.

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