RCA asks Benjamin Hershberger, Juan Pablo Cervantes, Tiffany Hunt Nielsen…

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2020 Presidential Election

Do you believe that Joe Biden won the 2020 Presidential election. Do you think that Donald Trump may have actually won Pennsylvania, Wisconsin or Arizona?

— RCA

Response

Juan Pablo Cervantes

While my focus is on conducting fair and accurate elections in Humboldt, your Registrar of Voters must be aware of the efforts to undermine the democratic process across the country. I believe that this question goes to the heart of that process - where leaders are selected through elections and not simply installed.

In response to your first question, I believe that Joe Biden won the 2020 Presidential election.

As for the second question, no evidence has been submitted to the American people to justify a claim that Trump won the elections in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Arizona. I base this opinion on several factors, including:

  1. One week after the election, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reported that the 2020 Presidential Election was “the most secure in American history,” finding “no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised.” (CISA, Joint Statement from Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council & The Election Infrastructure Sector Coordinating Executive Committees (Nov. 12, 2020), https://perma.cc/NQQ9-Z7GZ).

  2. Former Attorney General Barr announced on December 1, 2020, that the Department of Justice (DOJ) “had found no evidence of widespread election fraud on a scale that could have affected the outcome of the 2020 election.” (Interview of Richard Donoghue Before the S. Comm. on the Judiciary, 117th Cong. (Aug. 6, 2021), https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Donoghue%20Transcript.pdf). In finding that the “major allegations” of election fraud were “not supported by the evidence developed,” the DOJ had conducted “dozens of investigations, hundreds of interviews.” (Eastman v. Thompson, Case No. 8:22-cv-00099-DOC-DFM (C.D. Cal. Mar. 28, 2022 (citing Opp’n Ex. B, Richard Donoghue Deposition Transcript (Dkt. 160-5) 59-60, 80)).

  3. By early January 2021, just over 60 court cases bringing allegations of voter fraud were dismissed either for lack of evidence or standing. (William Cummings, Joey Garrison & Jim Sergent, By the numbers: President Donald Trump’s failed efforts to overturn the election, USA TODAY (Jan. 6, 2021), https://perma.cc/683S-HSRC).

  4. Despite pressure to do otherwise, Vice President Mike Pence certified the electoral votes from Arizona, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania, stating, “It is my considered judgment that my oath to support and defend the Constitution constrains me from claiming unilateral authority to determine which electoral votes should be counted and which should not.” (See READ Trump lawyer’s memo on six-step plan for Pence to overturn the election, CNN (Sept. 21, 2021), https://perma.cc/LP48-JRAF). (Public Letter from Michael R. Pence to Congress (Jan. 6, 2021), https://perma.cc/Y9BG-JFMJ).

Despite a lack of evidence to show elections tampering, many have come to believe that the 2020 election was marred by fraud, misconduct by elections officials, or other illegal activities. The effort to promote this misinformation is commonly referred to as the “Big Lie.”

Voters are justified in wanting an election free of fraud, which is above reproach by misinformation. Unfortunately, misinformation, by its definition, is not based on evidence.

While the “Big Lie” has not plagued our elections process in Humboldt County, the indication is that partisan politics will continue to use voter fraud, even in the absence of evidence, to attack local elections.

Even when all evidence supports an accurate election count, those who propagate false allegations will damage voter confidence. While I cannot silence misinformation, I can combat it by expanding on how we broadcast transparency in Humboldt County. I will expand on our use of those mediums that Humboldt County residents use to communicate and explore new means of making our reporting on elections more accessible.