Sheriffs Are Ready To Challenge Election Results [View all]

[Nevilledog]

https://www.democracydocket.com/opinion/sheriffs-are-ready-to-challenge-election-results/

In March of 2024, at the Ahern Luxury Boutique Hotel in Las Vegas, “constitutional sheriffs” like Washington State’s Sheriff Bob Songer and Michigan’s Sheriff Dar Leaf took to a makeshift stage, stood next to the stars and stripes and proclaimed that they were ready to challenge the 2024 presidential election results, using force if necessary.

The event was co-sponsored by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA), the largest group of “constitutional sheriffs” in the country. Led by ex-Arizona sheriff Richard Mack, the organization encourages elected county sheriffs to “[take] a stand against unlawful incursions and overreach of government bureaucrats” by refusing to enforce federal and state gun control laws and COVID-related health mandates and, most recently, by investigating alleged instances of “voter fraud.”

Mack and his followers also believe in a variety of conspiracy theories, including the “Great Replacement Theory,” which posits that Democrats are manipulating immigration to boost their votes, as well as theories about foreign interference in U.S. elections and disproven wild ideas about voting machines.

The hazy idea that elections are tainted and, therefore, subject to skepticism, has encouraged several sheriffs across the country to open sham voting fraud investigations. Mack has even gone on the road, determined to recruit more sheriffs not just to investigate alleged “voter fraud,” but also to form posses to serve as auxiliary patrol units for ballot boxes and polling locations. As he told Wired this month, “Every sheriff in this country should verify the security and integrity of the voting in their county. Every single one.”

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