Arizona, Wisconsin certify Biden’s victories

Officials in Arizona and Wisconsin certified their states’ 2020 election results on Monday, making President-elect Joe Biden’s narrow victories official.

The state are the latest to reject President Donald Trump’s efforts to delay election certification, as he and his legal team spin baseless accusations of widespread voter fraud.

“Despite the unprecedented challenges, Arizonans showed up for our democracy," Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, said at the certification ceremony. “This election was conducted with transparency, accuracy and fairness in accordance with Arizona’s laws and election procedures, despite numerous unfounded claims to the contrary.”

Arizona’s Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, Republican Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Chief Justice of the state Supreme Court Robert Brutinel all affirmed the results, and Ducey praised the state’s election process. Ducey also signed documents certifying the state’s electoral college slate.

The certification in Arizona comes as two of Trump’s attorneys, Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis, participated in an unofficial hearing hosted by some Republican Arizona lawmakers. They urged the state to ignore certification and have the state legislature appoint its own slate of Electoral College electors, a legally dubious course of action that Trump has amplified since it became clear he lost the 2020 vote.

Trump and his allies failed in state court to block the process of finalizing the election results, after a judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by the Arizona Republican Party seeking to block certification in Maricopa County, the state’s most populous county. The Trump campaign also dropped a lawsuit in the state that sought a hand review of certain ballots.

Similarly, some Republicans in the state have also rejected Trump’s conspiracy theories about widespread irregularities. The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors, which is composed of four Republicans and one Democrat, unanimously voted to certify their county’s results earlier in the month, rejecting fraud claims.

"No matter how you voted, this election was administered with integrity, transparency, and most importantly in accordance with Arizona state laws," Clint Hickman, the Republican chair of the board, said at the time.

In Wisconsin, the state election commission completed the statewide canvass following a partial recount. The recount, which was requested and paid for by the Trump campaign, slightly increased Biden’s margin in Wisconsin. Chair Ann Jacobs, a Democrat, completed the state-level canvass this afternoon, determining Biden as the victor.

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, certified the results in the state later Monday.

“I carried out my duty to certify the November 3rd election, and as required by state and federal law, I‘ve signed the Certificate of Ascertainment for the slate of electors for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris,” Evers said in a statement. “I want to thank our clerks, election administrators, and poll workers across our state for working tirelessly to ensure we had a safe, fair, and efficient election. Thank you for all your good work.”

However, the Trump campaign can now "exercise the five-day recount appeal rights afforded to it under [state law] if the campaign believes the determination inaccurately reflects the election outcome," according to the state board. Trump has already promised a lawsuit in the state.