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- A group of self-appointed ‘electors’ notarized and submitted a document meant to award Arizona’s 11 Electoral College votes to President Trump, according to a local report.
- The Arizona Republic, which has seen the document, reported that it appeared to be fake.
- The group that filed the document, AZ Protect the Vote, appears to have been emboldened by national and statewide efforts to overturn Arizona’s result, which was confirmed Monday.
- Republican Gov. Doug Ducey acknowledged Biden’s win there on November 30, but several GOP figures have encouraged election challenges.
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Supporters of President Donald Trump in Arizona submitted a document meant to falsely hand the state’s 11 electoral votes to him instead of Joe Biden, according to a local report.
An unofficial campaign group called, AZ Protect the Vote, styled themselves as electors, producing a notarized replica of the real document finalizing who wins the state’s Electoral College votes, according to The Arizona Republic.
The group boasted that it sent the document to officials in Washington, DC, sooner than the real Arizona electors, according to the paper.
Its plan had no effect on the outcome of any electoral processes, but shows the unusual lengths to which some Trump supporters are prepared to go to baselessly assert that he, not Biden, won the election.
The Arizona Republic, which saw the document, said it does not appear to be real. It said it was notarized by real estate businesswoman Melanie Hunsaker, whose husband is a Trump supporter.
Lori Osiecki, who was involved in making the document, told the paper: "We seated before the legislators here. We already turned it in. We beat them to the game."
The document in question is called a certificate of ascertainment, and is the formal mechanism for conveying a state's electoral votes. It is sent to the National Archives in Washington, DC, which reviews the legality of the documents.
It is unclear if submitting a fake document breaks any rules. The National Archives did not immediately return Business Insider's request for clarification.
The state's Republican governor Doug Ducey acknowledged the Arizona result on November 30, getting into a Twitter spat with Trump over his public stance on his loss.
However, several high-profile local Republicans have denied the results. Reps. Andy Biggs and Debbie Lesko were among the 106 GOP figures who supported a failed Supreme Court bid to overturn the election.
Rep. Paul Gosar also wrote an open letter on December 8 suggesting that Trump had been subject to a coup.
Both the Associated Press (AP) and Fox News called Arizona relatively early, on the same night as the count - to the fury of many Trump supporters. (Insider called the state for Biden on November 12.)
The state certified its results on November 30, according to the AP, but this was not formalized until Monday, when presidential electors nationwide cemented Biden's victory by confirming his 306 college votes - including all 11 from Arizona.