The first big test of Trump’s attempt to steal the electoral college was a failure

The Constitution says states get to decide how to allocate their electors. They have all settled on, sensibly, giving electors to whoever wins the popular vote in their state. Lawmakers can change that, but they’d need to do it before the election, not after.

That’s according to experts on law, the Constitution and democracy from a wide ideological range on the cross-partisan National Task Force on Election Crises. Changing how electors are appointed after people vote, they argue, would violate federal law that requires all states appoint their electors based on what happens on Election Day. Any attempt to appoint electors in another way after the election would almost certainly face serious legal challenges in courts.