A leftist activist said election officials should threaten those who refuse to certify election results with “consequences” like “criminal charges” or “losing your job” in a webinar Tuesday.

“We recommend stressing that anyone who tries to mess with this process or undermine our democracy will fail, and that they will or can face consequences,” said Lizzie Ulmer, senior vice president of strategy and communications at the left-wing States United Democracy Center. “As we’ve seen in a number of the states where this has happened, those consequences can include losing your job or even facing criminal charges.”

Ulmer joined Jon Miller, chief program officer for the leftist Public Rights Project, in a webinar called “Election Certification Messaging for Local Election Officials.” Miller said the two would focus on “messaging strategies” for local election officials to “debunk misinformation” when speaking to the public and media, especially about election certification.

“Folks pushing to block certification want to sow doubt about our fair and secure elections… It’s really important to often include accountability, that these efforts fail, and that there are consequences that people face. Again, depending on the circumstance that may or may not be the right fit,” Ulmer said. “The accountability framing shows that there are very serious consequences for when you seek to undermine that process.”

County canvassers review and certify the results of each election. Canvassing helps officials “resolve discrepancies, correct errors, and take any remedial actions necessary to ensure completeness and accuracy before certifying the election.” But since 2020,

Left-wing forces in Washington, D.C., are attempting to revive a 2020 lawsuit against former President Donald Trump, his campaign, and the Republican National Committee to tip the scales of the election in favor of Democrats.

If the Michigan Welfare Rights Organization (MWRO) and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) have their way, Trump and the RNC would be barred from “engaging in any activities related to recounts, certifications, or similar post-election activities” without receiving prior approval from the D.C. District Court to do so.

Moreover, the case is before lawfare Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is overseeing Trump’s criminal trial in the nation’s capital, despite calls for recusal over prejudicial statements she made against Trump in a separate case.

“This case is just another example of the left weaponizing courts to take out their competition. The left simply doesn’t want Republicans to be part of the process or be able to engage in routine election activities like observe polling places,” Jason Snead, executive director of Honest Elections Project, told The Federalist in a statement.

“Liberals want elections to be run behind closed doors where nobody can observe the process or question liberal election policies. It’s shameful that left-wing lawyers act as if the courts should work only for Democrats.”

The case threatens to effectively put back in place restrictions that hindered the RNC for nearly four decades. A judge appointed by President Jimmy Carter instated the restrictions when he settled a case between the RNC and

California’s far-left governor celebrated Constitution Day with a series of new laws to “crack down” on free speech articulated via artificially generated content.

On Tuesday, Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom officially outlawed the creation and distribution of images or videos created with artificial intelligence known as “deepfakes.” The meme ban applies 120 days before an election and 60 days after. The law formerly known as Assembly Bill 2839 allows people depicted in AI-generated memes and videos to obtain a preliminary injunction in court that stops the meme’s distribution.

“Safeguarding the integrity of elections is essential to democracy, and it’s critical that we ensure AI is not deployed to undermine the public’s trust through disinformation – especially in today’s fraught political climate,” Newsom said in a press release. “These measures will help to combat the harmful use of deepfakes in political ads and other content, one of several areas in which the state is being proactive to foster transparent and trustworthy AI.”

Newsom also signed two other pieces of legislation requiring campaigns and social media platforms to disclose whether their content was created with artificial intelligence. Tech CEO Elon Musk, who announced in July he would relocate the headquarters for two of his companies from California to Texas, amplified a fake campaign ad that Newsom characterized as the impetus for the decision to sign the anti-speech laws.

“Hard to be a free speech platform in a state that wants to ban free speech,” Musk wrote in another post on X.