2020 US Presidential Election Disputes

Disputes over the 2020 US presidential election involve efforts by incumbent president Donald Trump and many of his supporters to cast doubt on the validity of the election and even overturn its result. Trump, who lost the election to former vice president Joe Biden, demanded recounts in swing states that voted against him and filed more than sixty lawsuits, most of which were thrown out of court or dismissed. His baseless accusations included widespread voter fraud, poll watchers being kept from overseeing voting, mail-in ballots mysteriously appearing at polling places, and voting machines being defective. According to Trump’s own attorney general, William Barr, the Department of Justice (DOJ) found no evidence to support such claims. While Trump and his allies failed to show real evidence supporting their allegations, many Americans nevertheless came to believe their lies and related conspiracy theories.

Trump's false narrative around the 2020 election had significant consequences, both immediate and long-term. Emily Murphy, a Trump appointee who oversaw the General Services Administration (GSA), refused to acknowledge Biden as the winner of the election until the states certified their votes, delaying the beginning of the presidential transition process from November 7, 2020, when Biden was declared the president-elect, to November 23. During this time, Biden’s transition team was denied critical information regarding national security and the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump did not formally concede until January 7, 2021, a day after the Capitol riot in which thousands of his supporters, some heavily armed, overwhelmed law enforcement and stormed the US Capitol, attempting to stop the ceremonial counting of the Electoral College votes and the declaration of Biden as the winner of the presidential election. Because of his role in the Capitol riot, Trump was impeached for a second time by the House of Representatives, on charges of “incitement of insurrection,” though he was ultimately acquitted by Senate Republicans. Even after Biden's assumption of the presidency, Trump and many other conservative politicians continued to spread disinformation about the election, including repeating the idea that victory had been "stolen" from Trump. The issue—sometimes called "The Steal" by Trump supporters and "The Big Lie" by Trump critics—became a major element of US politics at virtually every level and had significant influence on later elections, including the 2022 midterms.

Background

During the 2020 presidential election, incumbent President Donald Trump, a Republican, ran against former vice president Joe Biden, a Democrat. It was the fifty-ninth presidential election in US history and was held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Among the key issues in the contentious election were the Trump administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, racial equality, immigration reform, health care, and climate change. The 2020 presidential election had the highest voter turnout in 120 years with 161 million Americans voting. Biden and incumbent senator Kamala Harris received more than 81 million votes, the most votes ever cast for a ticket in US history. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence received more than 71 million votes. Biden and Harris received 306 Electoral College votes, well over the 270 required to win, while Trump and Pence received 232 Electoral votes.

The 2020 presidential election was unprecedented because it took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, which by mid-January 2021 had killed more than 390,000 Americans. The coronavirus proved highly contagious and many lockdown and social distancing measures were imposed to limit its spread. As a result, political candidates largely campaigned remotely. In-person rallies and events were prohibited in some states and discouraged in others. Because of the virus, some states also expanded their vote by mail or absentee ballot options, and many people chose to vote this way. This significantly delayed the counting of votes, in some states by several days. In some swing states early results showed Trump in the lead, but the final tallying of mail-in ballots ultimately put Biden ahead. After the key swing state of Pennsylvania was called for the Democrats, Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, were declared the winners of the election on November 7, four days after Election Day.

Overview

While the mail-in votes were being counted, Trump falsely declared himself the winner several times. When Biden was declared the president-elect on November 7, Trump claimed that the election had been stolen from him and he had won the “legal vote.” He made many baseless claims, including allegations of widespread voter fraud, but no evidence of any consequential fraud or other concerns emerged. Many Republicans joined Trump in disputing the election results, undermining public confidence in the US electoral system.

Trump Administration Lawsuits. The Trump administration filed numerous lawsuits in Pennsylvania, a state that Biden won that was key to the outcome of the election. Among the many claims made by the Trump administration were that an extended mail-in ballot deadline was unconstitutional; that Montgomery County wrongly allowed mail-in voters to correct mistakes on ballots; and that election observers in Philadelphia were not given adequate access to the counting of votes. Some cases were heard by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, including one alleging that thousands of illegal ballots were cast and voter drop boxes were improperly allowed. These lawsuits were all denied or dismissed.

Many lawsuits were also filed in Georgia, a state that Trump had won in 2016 and but that Biden narrowly secured in 2020. Among the Trump administration’s claims were that voting machines allowed Democratic officials to add votes for Biden; that thousands of illegal votes were counted; that funds contributed by tech mogul Mark Zuckerberg tainted the outcome of the election; and that counties did not screen mailed ballot signatures. These lawsuits were all denied or dismissed. The Georgia Supreme Court rejected Trump’s appeal claiming widespread voter fraud in the state. The Trump administration also filed lawsuits in the states of Michigan, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada, Minnesota, and New Mexico. The US Supreme Court also rejected lawsuits from the Trump administration requesting that Biden’s wins in key states be overturned.

Delay in Transition Process. Despite Biden winning both the popular and Electoral College votes, Trump refused to acknowledge him as the president-elect and would not allow the transition process to begin. The General Services Administration (GSA), the organization that oversees presidential transitions, was headed by Emily Murphy, a Trump appointee. Murphy also refused to acknowledge Biden’s win, stating that she wished to wait until all states had certified their election results before authorizing the transition to begin. This meant that Biden was not granted access to critical information regarding national security and the pandemic. Murphy did not acknowledge Biden as the president-elect until November 23, after states had certified the number of votes that each candidate had received. However, even after this, Trump persisted in claiming that the election was rigged and had been stolen from him.

Capitol Riot. Trump did not officially concede the election until January 7, 2021, a day after the Capitol riot in which thousands of Trump supporters, some heavily armed and waving Confederate flags, overwhelmed law enforcement and stormed the Capitol, threatening to kill Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Pence. Some of the rioters were convicted criminals, White supremacists, far-right militants, and adherents of QAnon, an outlandish conspiracy theory viewing Trump as a messiah figure fighting against Satan-worshipping pedophile cannibals in the government. Five people died amid the violent attack, including a rioter who was shot by Capitol Police. More than one hundred police officers were injured. Rioters vandalized the Capitol, looting offices and breaking windows. Some chanted “Hang Pence” and hung a noose from a wooden scaffold on the National Mall.

On January 6, the day of the Capitol riot, Congress was meeting in a joint session to formally count the votes of the Electoral College and declare Biden as the winner of the election. Days before the ceremonial event, Trump had pressured Pence to reject the certification and overturn the election, something Pence did not have the power to do. Just prior to the Capitol riot, Trump led a “Save America” rally in Washington, DC, telling his thousands of supporters, “We will never concede” and “You don’t concede when there’s theft involved.” Trump ended his speech by telling those assembled to walk to the Capitol and show strength. As the mob stormed the Capitol, Trump did not inquire about the safety of Pence and his family or condemn those demanding the vice president’s execution. While the rioters managed to delay Congress from counting the Electoral votes, Congress reconvened that evening, declaring Biden the official winner of the presidential election.

Concession and Impeachment. Trump released a video of his concession the next day but did not congratulate Biden or mention him by name. He simply acknowledged that he would not be serving a second term and promised a peaceful transfer of power. In the days following the riot and concession, Pence refused to invoke the Twenty-Fifth Amendment to remove the president from power, saying that he did not believe it was in the country’s best interest and was inconsistent with the Constitution. On January 13, 2021, Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives and charged with “incitement of insurrection” against the US government and “lawless action at the Capitol.” Trump next faced a Senate trial beginning on February 8, after President Biden’s inauguration on January 20. Conviction required the votes of two-thirds of the senators, or sixty-seven. With Republicans in control of the Senate at the time, this meant that at least seventeen Republicans would have had to join all Democrats in voting guilty to secure a conviction. Although a growing number of Republicans were critical of Trump's conduct around the insurrection, only seven senators ultimately broke party ranks, and Trump was acquitted by a vote of 57–43.

Further Election Fraud Claims. Throughout 2021 and 2022 Trump and many other Republicans persistently repeated their false claims that the 2020 presidential election had been fraudulent. Polls steadily showed that significant numbers of Americans, and especially registered Republicans, believed that the election was invalid. However, Trump and his allies continued to fail to provide proof of their claims, and critics suggested that such false and inflammatory rhetoric threatened democratic values. Meanwhile, a House committee was formed to investigate the January 6 Capitol attack. As the committee's work unfolded it increasingly shed light on the depths of efforts by Trump and his surrogates to sow doubts about the electoral system and potentially keep Trump in power. For example, it later emerged that in the days after the election the Trump administration had considered drastic measures such as seizing voting machines.

Disputes over the 2020 presidential election immediately proved influential in US politics. Many observers held that Trump's baseless claims of voter fraud had an impact on the campaigns for Georgia's US Senate seats, both of which advanced to runoff votes held on January 5, 2021. After Democrats narrowly won both seats, giving them control of the Senate, it was widely suggested that many voters disapproved of Trump's message and attempts to interfere in Georgia's election, while other voters sympathetic to Trump may have abstained from voting in the runoff because they believed the outcome was rigged. Also, after the 2020 election was decided, voting legislation became a prominent issue at the state level. Some Republican-controlled states proposed or enacted laws intended to curb the perceived threat of voter fraud, though voting rights activists often suggested these measures in fact served only to suppress the vote. Election-denying individuals and groups also launched many lawsuits seeking to challenge election rules or generate further distrust of the system. Conversely, some states sought to expand and protect voting rights in an effort to avoid future election disputes.

In the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections election fraud claims were a central issue, circulated prominently both on social media and through in-person appearances by Trump and some Republican candidates. Several Republican primary contests were closely watched due to conflict between relative moderates and those who openly embraced election denial and conspiracy theories. (In some cases, Democrats provided financial support to far-right election deniers, gambling that they would be easier to beat in the general election than more moderate opponents.) By the general election held on November 8, 2022, ballots throughout the country included hundreds of Republican candidates who had shown some degree of support for falsehoods about the 2020 election, including in races for offices directly involved in running state elections, such as secretary of state. Many observers suggested that this indicated Trump's ongoing deep influence over the Republican Party and presented a serious threat to democratic norms. Meanwhile, some conservative figures organized efforts to recruit and put in place networks of poll monitors, giving rise to concerns about voter intimidation or interference.

Ultimately, Republicans overall underperformed in the 2022 midterms, failing to win control of the US Senate and winning fewer House seats than generally expected. Trump-backed candidates who had denied the validity of the 2020 election faced some of the highest-profile losses, particularly in swing states—including in Senate races in Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire and governor races in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Notably, no election denier won the crucial post of secretary of state in a swing state. However, many election deniers did win office elsewhere, including at least ten US Senators, eight governors, and four secretaries of state in already Republican-controlled states. While some analysts suggested the midterm results showed a limit to the influence of the false narrative around the 2020 election, others noted that Trump still retained a significant base and his lies remained prominent.

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