Local election officials in Michigan and Arizona were threatened and bullied into certifying election results.
Posted by Badlands Media, Checked
- Sources
- 5 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 40%
Badlands MediaAug 11, 2026
The sources document refusals to certify in Michigan and Arizona and state officials compelling certification through legal warnings and court orders, but none reports officials being threatened or bullied into certifying, so the central assertion is not graded either way.
What was said
… We saw some of that in the wake of the 2020 election, and then we saw it again in the wake of the 2022 election. And Brian has covered the people in Michigan, and there are people in Arizona as well, local elections officials that had real concerns about the elections, and they were threatened and bullied into certifying. That's just a fact. I don't think that's a pro-democracy action, but Democracy Communications Collaborative would say it is, though. Federal agencies asking state or local election offices for my personal data? …
Badlands Media · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Context. AP reports Michigan Upper Peninsula canvassers signed off only after state officials warned them it was their legal duty to record the tally, a legal warning rather than a documented threat.[1]
Context. CREW reports that in Arizona state authorities secured emergency court orders (writs of mandamus) compelling county officials to certify, which describes legal compulsion rather than bullying.[3]
Context. CNN reports Arizona Pinal County Supervisor Kevin Cavanaugh voted to certify only 'under duress,' without identifying the source of that duress.[4]
Context. Reporting on threats to Michigan and Arizona election officials (Reuters 2020, News21 2024) concerns intimidation of officials after they certified or during the 2020 dispute, not pressure to force certification.[2][5]
Sources
5 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 3 not rated
- 1Election 2024: Certification disputes in states spark concernsapnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 2Election officials face threats, intimidation as Trump pushes false fraud claimsreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
- 3Election certification under threat - CREWcitizensforethics.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 4Swing-state election officials move aggressively to guard against a ...wral.com · not rated · cited for: context
- 5America confronts election intimidation as political violence ...fractured.news21.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
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