By Tim Reid

LOS ANGELES (Reuters – A report on Wednesday revealed that campaign donations are rising to U.S. election monitoring roles. It is a sign how false election fraud claims by former President Donald Trump are raising stakes this November’s elections.

Candidates for the previously low-profile secretary of state positions in swing states — a role that holds substantial power in determining how votes are certified — are smashing fundraising totals from previous recent election cycles, according to the report https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/financing-races-offices-oversee-elections-january-2022 by the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice at New York University.

At least 10 Republicans running for secretary of state in five presidential battleground states have embraced Republican Trump’s false claim that he lost a “rigged” election last year, according to a Reuters analysis https://www.reuters.com/world/us/backers-trumps-false-fraud-claims-seek-control-next-us-elections-2021-09-22.

Three of these candidates were endorsed by the former president, one each in Arizona and Michigan, as well as Florida.

Democrats warn that having proponents of Trump’s debunked claim https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-false-claims-debunked-2020-election-jan-6-riot-2022-01-06 that his defeat was the result of widespread fraud in charge of the election process in swing states threatens the integrity of future elections, especially if Trump runs for president again in 2024.

The Brennan Center has analysed fundraising data to find that candidates for secretary have received 2.5-times more funding in the two states crucial to Biden winning last November, Georgia and Michigan.

The secretary of state race for Georgia has seen four candidates raise more than Republican Brad Raffensperger. This is despite Biden winning the state by just 12,000 votes. Raffensperger rejected Trump’s request to overturn Biden’s win, and will face a challenging re-election fight.

Trump has supported Jody Hice, a Republican congressman, for overturning Biden’s victory following the Jan. 6 attack by Trump supporters on the U.S. Capitol. Raffensperger is challenging him. He raised more money than any other candidate, raising over $500,000

This is also how the Georgia Secretary of State contest reveals these otherwise unknown races being nationalized.

This race has received 22% contributions from out-of-state contributors so far, almost twice the amount of 2018 when it was just 13%.

Michigan Democratic Secretary-of-State Jocelyn Benson is the current incumbent. This amount has six times that of 2014’s previous incumbent.

Trump endorsed Kristina Karamo as her Republican opponent. She has raised more than $164,000 through over 2,600 donations.