On December 14, 2020, groups of Trump supporters met in several states that had certified Biden victories and signed documents purporting to cast electoral votes for Trump. The documents were sent to federal recipients despite lacking the certification required for official electoral votes.
The January 6 select committee concluded that the effort was designed to create a pretext for challenging or delaying the count in Congress. The language of the documents varied: some signers included conditions related to pending litigation, while others did not.
The documents, the state certifications, and subsequent investigations should be distinguished. Signing a document is a verifiable event; determining each participant’s legal liability depends on the applicable law and the evidence concerning intent.
Alternative certificates were submitted by Trump supporters in several states despite certified Biden electors. The documents differed in wording and circumstances.
The alternate-elector documents must be read against the states' official certifications. In several states, Trump supporters signed certificates asserting electoral authority that state officials had not granted. Pennsylvania and New Mexico used conditional language, a distinction that matters when comparing the documents and the participants' intentions.
Their proposed significance was procedural: the paperwork might give Congress or the vice president a purported basis to question certified electoral votes. The documents did not themselves transfer electoral authority. The failure of that strategy illustrates the difference between creating a competing paper record and obtaining lawful recognition for it.