Arizona GOP fake elector proposes bill to let politicians overturn elections

"The Legislature, and no other official, shall appoint presidential electors," the bill says

By Gabriella Ferrigine

Published January 31, 2024 1:11PM (EST)

State Representative Anthony Kern speaking at a campaign rally with Governor Mike Pence at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. (Gage Skidmore/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)
State Representative Anthony Kern speaking at a campaign rally with Governor Mike Pence at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix, Arizona. (Gage Skidmore/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)

Republican Arizona state Sen. Anthony Kern recently filed a legislative proposal that would allow lawmakers to overturn elections.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 1014 would allow Arizona politicians to determine how electoral college votes are divvied up, stipulating that "the Legislature, and no other official, shall appoint presidential electors in accordance with the United States Constitution."

Kern is among a group of Republicans being investigated by the state's Attorney General, Kris Mayes, for reportedly serving as a "fake elector" for former president Donald Trump. He was also photographed at the Capitol at the deadly insurrection on Jan 6, 2021.

As noted by HuffPost, Kern's bill was not the first GOP-authored proposal in the state that suggests allowing legislators to overturn the certification of elections. In 2021, then-state Rep. Shawna Bolick, a Republican, proposed a bill that would have allowed the legislature to subvert a presidential election "at any time before the presidential inauguration." In 2022, then-state Rep. John Fillmore, another Republican, put forth a bill that would permit politicians to "accept or reject the election results” for any regular primary or general election.