What can be done if an election official refuses to certify results, according to Eric Holder?

Eric Holder said history shows refusals to certify rarely succeed: courts step in, other board members outvote the holdout, or the holdout gives up. His main legal tool is a writ of mandamus, a court order compelling the official to do the job they swore to do, backed by thousands of peaceful protesters outside that official's office demanding certification.

Holder said certification is largely by rote, a board checking boxes rather than weighing evidence.
Holder said a warning sign in Congress would be Speaker Mike Johnson replacing House clerk Kevin McCumber before new members are sworn in.

▸In their words

“That is a legitimate First Amendment activity on the part of those protesters.” Eric Holder · at 47:32 — open in the transcript →

Source: our own transcription of the episode. The full conversation is on Pod Save America (2026-10-25). Read the whole episode summary →

▸More from this episode

Q1What did Eric Holder say about Todd Blanche and the DOJ blocking election certification?Q2How is Eric Holder preparing for Trump administration interference in the 2026 midterms?Q3What did Eric Holder say about DHS flagging 20,000 non-citizen voters in California?Q4Is it legal for armed FBI agents to be at polling places, according to Eric Holder?Q6What did Eric Holder say about the Trump administration's Alaska Dan Sullivan lawsuit?Q7Did Trump's mid-decade gerrymandering push fail, according to Eric Holder?Q8How should voters return mail ballots in 2026, according to Eric Holder?

Transcribe your links. Paste a YouTube, Google Drive or podcast link and WhipScribe gives you the transcript. Transcribe a link →