Justice delayed in 2020 vote fraud

Five years have passed, but it doesn't mean the phony electors should go unpunished

- MARK Z. BARABAK COLUMNIST

TRUMP supporters storm the U.S. Capitol in 2021. To some, efforts to overturn the 2020 election are old news.

(EVELYN HOCKSTEIN For the Washington Post)

In the days and weeks after the 2020 election, partisans across the country used lies and deceit to try to defraud the American people and steal the White House.

Although Joe Biden was the clear and unequivocal winner, racking up big margins in the popular vote and electoral college, 84 fake electors signed statements certifying that Donald Trump had carried their seven battleground states. He did not.

The electoral votes at issue constituted nearly a third of the number needed to win the presidency and would have been more than enough to reverse Biden's victory, granting Trump a second term against the wishes of most voters.

To some, the attempted election theft is old (and eagerly buried) news.

The events that culminated in the violent assault on the Capitol and attempt to block Biden from taking office occurred half a decade ago, the shovel wielders might say, making them as relevant as those faded social-distancing stickers you still see in some stores.

Besides, Trump was given a second turn in the White House by a plurality of voters in 2024.

But it's only old news if you believe that justice and integrity carry an expiration date, wrongdoing is fine with the passage of enough time and the foundational values of our country and its democracy — starting with fair and honest elections — matter only to the extent they help your political side prevail.