Wisconsin trial over fake electors set to start just before 2024 presidential election

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A jury trial in a lawsuit seeking $2.4 million in damages from Republicans who attempted to cast Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes for Donald Trump in 2020 even though he lost is scheduled to begin just two months before the 2024 presidential election.

Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington on Wednesday scheduled the trial to begin on Sept. 3, 2024, and last one month. Defendants are expected to file a motion to dismiss the case in coming weeks. Many other legal moves are expected over the next year that could affect the start date of the trial.

Democrats filed the lawsuit against the fake electors and two attorneys for Trump, arguing they violated a number of laws and were part of a conspiracy by Trump and his allies to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential race. It also seeks to disqualify the Republicans from ever serving as electors again.

Fake electors met in Wisconsin and other battleground states where Trump was defeated in 2020, attempting to cast ballots for the former president even though he lost. Republicans who participated in Wisconsin said they were trying to preserve Trump’s legal standing in case courts overturned his defeat.

President Joe Biden won Wisconsin by nearly 21,000 votes, a result that has withstood recounts, partisan-led investigations, a nonpartisan audit and multiple lawsuits.