Fact check: No, sending postcards to state officials won't decertify 2020 election results

Molly Stellino, USA TODAY
·6 min read
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The claim: Sending postcards to key states will lead to decertifying ballots

Since Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election, numerous false claims have continued to circulate claiming vote counts in battleground states were fraudulent.

An Aug. 3 post asks people to act on these claims and send postcards to five battleground states where Biden won in 2020. The post claims doing so will lead state officials to "decertify" the election results.

“Send your postcards to 5 key states to decertify fraud TODAY,” the post reads. It also includes a graphic urging people to stop states from destroying ballots, a common practice for practical reasons, state officials say.

The post, which garnered more than 450 shares in three weeks, was shared by Janet Porter, who recently lost a Republican congressional primary in Ohio. The post references attempts to decertify results in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

But decertifying election results is not possible, experts agree. Election results from the five states were certified shortly after the 2020 election and have been repeatedly confirmed as legitimate.

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USA TODAY reached out to Porter and the website linked in the post for comment.

Decertifying election results is not legally possible

According to experts and state officials, there is no legal basis for decertifying election results.

“De-certification is not a legitimate process,” said Sophia Solis, deputy communications director for the Arizona Secretary of State’s office. “Under state law, the Arizona Secretary of State has a non-discretionary duty to canvass the statewide election returns as provided by the counties and has no authority to change vote totals or reject the election results. The same applies to the Board of Supervisors who canvass and certify the county election results. Second, sending postcards to state officials does not decertify election results. Decertification is not a thing.”

Representatives from other states said likewise.

“Sending postcards will not decertify the election,” said Mike Hassinger, a spokesperson for the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, in an email to USA TODAY.

Riley Vetterkind, public information officer for the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said there is no statutory provision for decertifying a Wisconsin election. And Amy Gulli, director of communications for the Pennsylvania Department of State, said there is no validity to the claim.

The Michigan Secretary of State's office did not respond to requests for comment.

In this Nov. 7, 2020 file photo, supporters react after it was announced that President-elect Joe Biden defeated President Trump at a rally in Milwaukee.
In this Nov. 7, 2020 file photo, supporters react after it was announced that President-elect Joe Biden defeated President Trump at a rally in Milwaukee.

Chris Krebs, who led the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency before  then-President Donald Trump fired him, explained this in a 2021 tweet.

“When you see someone say 'decertify,' ignore them. There is no mechanism for such a thing under the law,” Krebs said. “Here’s the thing: you’re the mark. They want your money, they want your rage, they want you turning out, protesting, & threatening officials. You’re a pawn. Nothing more.”

The Facebook post links to a website from the America Project, which is run by Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock who donated millions to help fund the independent audit in Arizona.

Fact check: How we know the 2020 election results were legitimate, not 'rigged' as Donald Trump claims

The website tells people to send mail to Wisconsin, Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia and Michigan.

2020 election results have been certified in all those states, according to news reports. Biden won in each state, and these results have been affirmed through several processes.

In Arizona, an audit performed by Maricopa County and an independent audit by a firm hired by the state Senate confirmed the state's election results. In Georgia, three audits found no evidence of wrongdoing that affected the state's election outcome. In Michigan, state officials audited ballots and voting machines and corroborated Biden's win. An audit in Pennsylvania found "strong evidence of the accuracy of the count of votes," according to a press release from the state. In Wisconsin, recounts in two of the state's largest counties found no evidence of widespread fraud, and an audit authorized by the state's lawmakers of voting machines and an investigation by a conservative law firm found the same.

Federal law says states can destroy ballots after 22 months

The website urges people to send postcards because the “ballots in the 2020 presidential election are scheduled to be destroyed on September 4.” It references the Civil Rights Act of 1960, which requires election officials to retain ballots for 22 months.

This law was originally intended to maintain ballots in case they needed to be investigated for allegations of voting discrimination, according to PolitiFact, which also debunked the claim. Once the 22 months is up, states are no longer obligated to keep ballots. Officials in Milwaukee County, for example, discard ballots due to lack of space. 

"Imagine trying to store all those pieces of paper for an extended period of time – we would run out of room," Michelle Hawley, director of Milwaukee County Election Commission, told PolitiFact.

Arizona’s state law requires state officials to keep the ballots unopened and unaltered for 24 months unless a court orders them to be opened, according to Solis.

Our rating: False

Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that sending postcards to key states will lead to decertifying ballots. Once election results are certified, it is not legally possible for them to be decertified, according to experts. Decertification is not a real process. All 2020 election results have been certified in the five key states mentioned on the website linked to the post, and an array of audits and reviews have found them to be legitimate.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact check: False claim that sending postcards will decertify election