Freedom Caucus Chairman Calls For Allocating All Of North Carolina’s Electors To Trump Ahead Of Election

“You statistically can go and say, ‘Look, you got disenfranchised in 25 counties. You know what that vote probably would have been,’” Harris said during an exchange with a speaker at the dinner. “Which would be — if I were in the Legislature — enough to go, ‘Yeah we have to convene the legislature. We can’t disenfranchise the voters.’”

Harris’ comments were in response to a keynote speech by Ivan Raiklin, a pro-Trump activist who has long embraced a radical strategy of state legislatures guaranteeing Trump’s reelection if they deem the 2024 election tainted by fraud and corruption. Raiklin posted a video of his full speech on X as well as a separate clip of his exchange with Harris.

Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In his remarks, Raiklin argued that in addition to North Carolina, Republican-controlled legislatures in New Hampshire, Arizona, Nebraska, Georgia and Wisconsin could take similar steps by meeting on Election Day and awarding their electors to Trump. Harris asked Raiklin how he could justify his plan in other states that were unaffected by storm damage.

“It looks like just a power play,” Harris said. “In North Carolina, it’s legitimate. There are a lot of people that aren’t going to get to vote and it may make the difference in that state.”

Under the Constitution, state legislatures have the power to choose how to allocate their votes in the Electoral College. All 50 states assign their electors based on the popular vote of their citizens.

North Carolina election officials have attempted to address challenges voters are facing in the state’s western counties. They’ve added new early voting sites and expanded the ability for displaced voters to obtain absentee ballots outside their home county. The Trump campaign has supported measures to ease voting in light of the hurricane.

Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) told reporters on Friday that he hadn’t heard about any plans for the state Legislature to take the steps discussed by Raiklin and Harris. Asked about Harris’ comments, McHenry said, “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, bless his heart.”

The retiring congressman described a “massive amount of work” going into ensuring everyone in the storm-affected counties can vote.

“I’m confident we’ll have a safe and fair election in North Carolina, and then everyone that wishes to vote will have the opportunity,” he said.

House Democrats also quickly sounded the alarm over Harris’ comments.

“Extreme Republican leaders are openly advocating that North Carolina’s electoral votes be given to Donald Trump without an election,” said Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, which oversees election policies. “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.”

Raiklin became a figure of interest to the House Jan. 6 select committee and special counsel Jack Smith for his December 2020 tweet dubbed “Operation Pence Card.” In the tweet, which Trump retweeted at the time, Raiklin laid out a strategy in which then-Vice President Mike Pence could ensure Trump reclaimed the White House. Raiklin has not been accused of wrongdoing and has become a regular at Republican events as well as hearings on Capitol Hill and the nearby federal courthouse.

Source: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/25/trump-freedom-caucus-north-carolina-electors-00185520