Voting & Elections

“It’ll be a slush fund,” said Paul S. Ryan, a campaign finance lawyer with Common Cause. “Trump could decide to pay himself $1 million a year out of this fund. That’s legal. He could pay [his children] Don Jr. and Ivanka, if he wanted to. It’s pretty clear that this is a classic bait-and-switch scheme.”

"Once again, this court decision is a win for voters," declared Suzanne Almeida, elections adviser for Common Cause Pennsylvania. "We're glad that this court, also, recognized the lack of evidence and lack of merit in this lawsuit. In America, voters choose our elected officials. Pennsylvania's voters made a collective decision, weeks ago, and that decision needs to be honored."

Our democracy has endured wars, pandemics, natural disasters and now a lawless president. And despite that, next year will likely bring more unexpected challenges that we’ll confront as a nation. We nonetheless must be thankful for what we have, as imperfect as our system is. Change has often been cyclical, and following the scandals of the Trump administration, we may soon have a once-in-a-generation opportunity. If one thing is clear, it’s that we’re on the doorstep of passing a comprehensive reform package to put “we the people” back in charge of our democracy.

The Secretary of State doesn’t have a firm certification deadline, “so we have plenty of time,” explains Almeida of Common Cause Pennsylvania. “This is just logistically complicated… and sometimes [it] stretches on past the deadline.” It’s not unprecedented to have a handful of counties missing the Nov. 23 deadline, she says, and none are large enough that their results would flip the outcome. Almeida says it’s also currently unclear if counties involved in pending litigation can certify results, but only Allegheny and Philadelphia County are in that position. Those suits concern a handful of votes that wouldn’t impact Biden’s decisive margin of over 80,000, she adds.

"The typical donor doesn't read the legal fine print," Paul Ryan, vice president of vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, told CNN. Ryan said few restrictions apply on the PAC's spending. Should they choose to do so, Trump and his family members could draw salaries from Save America funds or direct its donors' money to his businesses by hosting PAC events at a Trump-owned properties. "This money could easily -- and legally -- end up in his own pocket in the coming years," Ryan said. And even after the long-shot legal challenges to the 2020 election end, Trump "could tease a 2024 run for years and continue milking his supporters for contributions to this slush fund," he added.

And some delays could still happen given the crushing workload election officials faced this year during the pandemic, according to Suzanne Almeida with Common Cause Pennsylvania, a good government group that helps with voter education and monitors election work in the state. “A delay in certification doesn’t necessarily mean there are shenanigans; sometimes it just takes longer to go through all the mechanics to get to certification,” Almeida said.