Since then, Young said he has come to view Biden as illegitimate and that his doubts about the country’s electoral system have only deepened.
But now he believes Trump is on the brink of a political victory, and if Trump wins, Young said, like many of the jubilant Republicans gathered at the convention, “We’ll be in the race.” They will accept the election results.
“I’m a Republican. I’d be very happy if my side wins,” said Young, 64, wearing a Trump-themed Hawaiian shirt, hours before Trump accepted the GOP nomination.
“But if the Democrats win and something suspicious happens…” he paused, conceding defeat. He will change his mind and take action again.
Trump supporters are full of confidence, but his campaign is preparing them to question the election results if things don’t go their way. Trump has cast doubt on the election results in advance, sowing doubt about the outcome long before any votes were cast. In his convention speech on Thursday, he falsely claimed Democrats “used the coronavirus to rig the 2020 presidential election.”
“We will make sure this never happens again,” he said.
Trump has refused to commit to accepting the results regardless of who the winner is, a move the Biden campaign called a “danger to the Constitution” in May. In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in May, Trump said he would “let them know” if he thought there were problems with Wisconsin’s election results.
“If everything is honest, I’ll gladly accept the results,” Trump said. “If it’s not, then we have to fight for our country’s rights.”
Many states have changed their voting rules since 2020, some tightening rules while others expanding early voting and ballot access. Some Trump supporters Many have wrongly blamed him for eliminating or severely curtailing early voting and counting paper ballots by hand rather than using tabulating machines. Losing in 2020. The strength of their influence within the party and over the former president himself is evident in the platform adopted by the Republican National Committee calling for same-day voting and paper ballots.
Still, in videos played each night at the convention, Trump urged Republicans to vote however they wanted and to look out for other voters.
“Republicans must win and they must use every appropriate tool to defeat the Democrats,” he said in the video. “They’re destroying our country. We’re going to protect the vote, whether that’s early voting, absentee voting, voting by mail or voting in person. Protecting the vote is the most important thing we have to do. They’re going to cheat, so keep your eyes peeled.”
In his speech on Thursday, Trump did not mention the 2020 election as much as he has at some of his rallies, but he did accuse Democrats of fraud. Recounts, independent election investigations and court rulings have found no evidence of widespread fraud. Trump did not back down, saying Democrats are fierce “when it comes to election fraud and a few other things.”
According to a Washington Post analysis, of the 52 politicians (both officeholders and candidates) who spoke at the convention, 44 had at least once expressed disapproval of the election on social media or in public. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) argued from the podium that Democrats “want illegal immigrant votes more than they care about protecting our children.” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) echoed the same theme, warning that illegal immigrants could “disrupt the election.”
Delegate Joan Fischer of Maryland said she would be watching the election closely. Like many of the Trump supporters at the convention this week, Fischer believes the last election was stolen. She said she would have no problem accepting the results in 2024 if the Republican candidate wins.
“Because we won. No question,” she said. “Because we won.” If Democrats lose, she predicts they will “accuse us of stealing their victory” and “make a racket, take to the streets, picket, hold up signs, and act like fools.”
Florida Representative Rhonda Rebman Lopez, wearing a red, white and blue dress and a “Make America Great Again” cowboy hat, said she had concerns about the way the 2020 election was conducted. “It was unsettling because it took so long to count,” she said of the 2020 votes. “I think the longer it takes to count, the more potential there is for there to be problems.”
But she said she believes she can trust the results of this fall’s election, in part because the COVID-19 pandemic that led to sweeping changes to voting rules is no longer in the country. An increase in poll watchers also boosts confidence, she said.
“I think there’s a huge emphasis on fair and clean elections,” she said. “I think there’s going to be a thorough scrutiny of all the precincts that may have had minor issues.”
Republicans have spent the past four years assembling teams of poll workers and poll watchers to challenge election laws and rules ahead of the November election. The increased oversight, combined with growing involvement from grassroots Republicans and groups that teach them how to spot problems, has given Republican voters a sense of confidence.
The attention on this year’s election process has been encouraging for Daylin Brown, a supply planner and delegate from Georgia.
“I think it’s going to be a very cordial response because everyone is watching,” she said on the way to Fiserv Forum on the final night of the convention, “and personally, some of the poll workers that I know have zero tolerance for fraud or stupidity.”
Michael McMullen, a Pennsylvania representative wearing a suit modeled after the border wall Trump has pledged to build, said he believes there was “foul play” in “big Democratic cities” in 2020, but he’s not worried this time around.
“It’s going to be a landslide victory on election day,” he said. “The polls will close early, so there won’t be any vote counting.”
Anthony Nunziato, chairman of the local Republican Party in Queens, said he was “very confident” about the upcoming election. Asked if he would accept the certified results of the 2024 election, Nunziato said, “I always do. If they’re legitimate, I always do, whatever the outcome may be.”
Asked about the reluctance of some of his colleagues to accept the certification of the 2020 election results, Nunziato said, “We always say in an election it’s not about who votes, it’s about who counts the votes. So we have to be careful about who collects the ballots. … As long as it’s fair, I’m open to everything.”
Colby Itkowitz, Dan Keating and Ens Morse in Washington contributed to this report.
