Tuesday's 'safe harbor' deadline essentially ends Trump's doomed election challenges


President Trump's janky legal and political campaign to overturn his loss to President-elect Joe Biden through the courts and state legislatures effectively dies Tuesday, when the "safe harbor" deadline presumptively locks in certified vote counts. As of Monday night, 47 states and the District of Columbia have certified their results, giving Biden electoral votes to spare, according to Reuters' tally. When the Electoral College formally casts ballots on Dec. 14, Biden should have 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232.
Under the 1887 Electoral Count Act, each state's slate of electors chosen by the "safe harbor" date "is final and presumptively cannot be challenged in court or in Congress," CNN's Elie Honig explains. "The states are not required to finalize their electoral votes by the safe harbor date — but if they do, those determinations are protected by federal law," so this "should effectively extinguish any dying embers of hope even for the last few remaining election denialists."
"Trump's legal team publicly says the safe harbor deadline is meaningless and they'll simply disregard it," since it isn't enshrined in the Constitution, Politico reports. "But the campaign's legal filings tell another story," and "as Trump attempts to bludgeon his way to a second term, judges and lawyers for both sides have also treated the safe-harbor deadline as a cause for urgency." There will still be a bit of drama as Trump allies in Congress challenge the final results Jan. 6, and Trump may have other reasons for publicly keeping up his losing fight.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But "Trump's allies have increasingly acknowledged their losing legal hand," Politico reports, and the accumulating losses "have all underscored a reality that seems to be sinking in inside Trump's orbit: It's over."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
What are 'dark fleets' and why does China use them?
The Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
Cracks appear in MAGA's pro-Israel front
IN THE SPOTLIGHT As the world watches a humanitarian crisis unfold across Gaza, some of Israel's most staunchly conservative defenders have begun speaking out against its actions in the occupied territories
-
5 cultural trails to traverse by car
The Week Recommends Leave the hiking shoes at home
-
What are 'dark fleets' and why does China use them?
The Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
Thailand, Cambodia agree to ceasefire in border fight
Speed Read At least 38 people were killed and more than 300,000 displaced in the recent violence
-
Israel 'pauses' Gaza military activity as aid outcry grows
Speed Read The World Health Organization said malnutrition has reached 'alarming levels' in Gaza
-
US and EU reach trade deal
Speed Read Trump's meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen resulted in a tariff agreement that will avert a transatlantic trade war
-
At least 12 dead in Thai-Cambodian clashes
Speed Read Both countries accused the other of firing first
-
US and Japan strike trade deal
Speed Read Trump signed what he's calling the 'largest deal ever made'
-
28 nations condemn Israel's 'inhumane killing' in Gaza
Speed Read Countries including Australia, France, Japan and the U.K. have released a joint statement condemning Israel's ongoing attacks
-
Israeli gunfire kills dozens at Gaza aid site
Speed Read The U.N. estimates that at least 875 Palestinians have died while trying to access food in recent months