The 2020 election was an oddity based, in no small part, on the unusual spike in mail-in ballots.
Mail-in ballots have traditionally been a small fraction of the overall vote and most states had a strict ballot request process with verification before being counted.
That was before the coronavirus.
Connor Semelsberger observed in a CNS News commentary that conservatives racked up numerous significant victories in federal and state elections — even in what were considered Democrat strongholds in Miami, Los Angeles, and Cincinnati.
But that same success wasn't enjoyed by President Donald Trump and other Republicans in key battleground states such as Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Nevada.
Another anomaly of 2020 is the total number of votes cast. No prior presidential candidate in history has ever received 70 million popular votes. Former President Barack Obama came close in 2008 when he claimed 69.5 million, but then dropped to 65.9 million four years later.
Trump shattered that record by grabbing 74.2 million in November. Yet if the numbers can be believed, Biden received 81.2 million.
What changed? The COVID-19 pandemic prompted Democrats to promote universal mail-in voting, despite the assertion by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, that in-person voting would be perfectly safe.
Now, Trump campaign lawyers have primarily concentrated their efforts on six states where mail-in ballots helped Democrat Joe Biden win the smallest of victories: Nevada, Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.
Here's how they're shaping up.
Nevada: 33,596 votes separate Trump and Biden (2.4%), with six electoral votes at stake.
Nevada approved a plan in early August to mail ballots to all registered voters without request. That included dead voters, voters who had moved, or voters had otherwise become ineligible to vote.
In addition, live ballots for the taking reportedly piled up in the common areas of apartment complexes.
Campaign lawyer Jesse Binnall presented evidence Thursday that 1,506 votes came from dead people, 42,284 double ballots were cast, about 20,000 voters voted without having a Nevada mailing address, and 2,468 voters had changed their addresses to another state. Judge James Russell dismissed the lawsuit claiming lack of evidence.
Arizona: 10,457 votes separate Trump and Biden (0.3%), 11 electoral votes at stake.
Unlike Nevada, Arizonans are required to request an absentee ballot in order to vote by mail.
Arizona Republican Party Chairman Kelli Ward sought to reverse Biden's razor-thin victory under a state law that allows voters to dispute certified results if they suspect misconduct, illegal votes, or an inaccurate count.
Judge Randall Warner wrote "there is no evidence that the inaccuracies were intentional or part of a fraudulent scheme. They were mistakes. And given both the small number of duplicate ballots and the low error rate, the evidence does not show any impact on the outcome."
Ward said she intends to appeal.
Wisconsin: 20,682 votes separate Trump and Biden (0.7%), 10 electoral votes at stake.
Wisconsin is similar to Arizona, in that there is no universal mail-in voting. Registered voters must submit an application to receive a ballot and vote by mail.
Last week the Wisconsin Supreme Court declined to take up the Trump campaign challenge of the elections results, telling the lawyers that they should have brought the action first to a lower court. Three justices disagreed and wanted to hear the case.
"Petitioners assert troubling allegations of noncompliance with Wisconsin's election laws by public officials on whom the voters rely to ensure free and fair elections," wrote Justice Rebecca Bradley's dissent. "The majority's failure to embrace its duty (or even an impulse) to decide this case risks perpetuating violations of the law by those entrusted to follow it."
The campaign's chief Wisconsin lawyer in the state said that he expects "to be back in front of the Supreme Court very soon."
Michigan: 154,188 votes separate Trump and Biden (2.8%), 16 electoral votes at stake.
Mail-in ballots in Michigan hit a record of 3.3 million of over 5 million ballots cast.
Yet, the state witnessed only a tiny number of rejected ballots, just 15,300 or .5 percent. Typically, the state sees a 1 percent rejection rate.
Much of Trump's recount focus has been on the software used in election machines.
This past week the Trump campaign had cause to celebrate when a Michigan judge ordered a forensic examination of 22 Dominion voting tabulation machines in Antrim County, where election officials first noticed that thousands of votes intended for the president went to Biden.
Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani believed it was a big win for honest elections.
"Antrim County Judge in Michigan orders forensic examination of 22 Dominion voting machines," he tweeted. "This is where the untrustworthy Dominion machine flipped 6,000 votes from Trump to Biden. Spiking of votes by Dominion happened all over the state."
Pennsylvania: 81,660 votes separate Trump and Biden (1.2%), 20 electoral votes at stake.
More than 2.6 million mail-in ballots were cast in the presidential race and Joe Biden won the group with 75% of the vote.
Rep. Mark Kelly, R-Pa., has filed suit to overturn the state's mail-in ballot rules and his action has caught the attention of the U.S. Supreme Court, which is seeking Pennsylvania officials to respond by December 8.
Pennsylvania created a mail-in ballot nightmare.
Prior to the general election, the state supreme court approved a three-day extension for the delivery of mail-in ballots, without requiring a postmark, as well as permitting the use of unmanned ballot drop boxes.
The court admitted that the order violated the state constitution, but said that the COVID outbreak necessitated the rule changes. They also violate the U.S. Constitution, which provides that state legislatures set the time, place, and manner of elections — not judges.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court later approved an executive order from Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, stating that county officials "are prohibited from rejecting absentee or mail-in ballots based on signature comparison," thus creating another alleged constitutional violation.
Georgia: 61,837 votes separate Trump and Biden (0.2%), 16 electoral votes at stake.
Trump has stated had the state used a simple signature verification match for all mail-in ballots, he would have easily one.
On Saturday speaking at a Valdosta, Georgia, rally in support of the state's two GOP senators, Trump blasted the general election's mail-in ballots as "phony" and "fake," and surveillance footage the campaign obtained from an Atlanta voting tabulation center appears to confirm that.
The footage appears to depict election officials scanning ballots obtained from suitcases stored beneath a table, after they had dismissed reporters and GOP watchers.
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