Election officials in battleground states across the country—Republicans and Democrats alike—are getting ahead of election disinformation, debunking baseless claims of fraud and issuing strong warnings against any attempts to delay election certification by county officials and of the constituency that denies the elections. In some cases, they remove them before they have a chance to intervene.

Despite the warnings and debunking of conspiracy theories, experts tell TPM that a deluge of disinformation and attempts to obstruct the electoral process is likely to persist.

“The message from Trump-Vance was, if we win, it’s fair; if we lose, it’s stolen,” Mark Kokanovich, a former federal prosecutor in Arizona and an attorney at Ballard Spahr, told TPM in an interview. “Every indication is that they will do it again and use every legal and illegal means they can, just as they have done before.”

In Cochise County, Arizona, which has been a hotbed of misinformation and election denial since the 2020 election, Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes, announcing a recent plea deal in an election interference case, issued a strong warning against any possible future rogue electoral district. officials who could refuse to certify the results.

Republican Cochise County Supervisor Peggy Judd was indicted last year after her refusal to certify the 2022 election results by the state’s mandatory deadline. Earlier this month, Judd pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge, stating therein plea agreement that she “knowingly” refused to certify the election on time.

In response to the announcement of Judd’s plea agreement, Mayes warned against any such behavior this cycle: “Any attempt to interfere with the Arizona election will not be tolerated. My office will continue to pursue justice and ensure that anyone who undermines our electoral system is held accountable,” she said in a press release this month.

“Today’s plea agreement and sentencing should serve as a powerful reminder that I will not hesitate to use all available tools to uphold the rule of law and protect the integrity of Arizona’s elections,” she continued.

Kokanovich noted that the outcome of Judd’s case should “stand as a warning” to others considering delaying election certification.

“The state will come after you if you do it again,” he said.

Maricopa County Supervisor Bill Gates also told TPM that Judd pleading guilty to a misdemeanor “definitely sent a message to the supervisors that this is a ministerial responsibility that they have to live up to.”

In Georgia, Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger was similarly a staunch defender of safety and integrity Georgia’s election and has repeatedly stated that he will “defend the election results” regardless of which candidate wins.

“I will make sure, and what I have made sure of since 2018, that I will hold both parties accountable to you, the voters of Georgia, and I stand ready to defend the election results with election officials across the state.” he said in a press conference on Wednesday.

He also pointed out that state law requires counties to certify election results by Nov. 12. Mike Hassinger, a spokesman for Raffensperger’s office, previous said in an interview with TPM regarding the mandatory certification of election results amid concerns over new rogue state election commission rules: “The safeguard is the law, which says the registration boards will certify the results no later than Monday at 17:00. after Tuesday’s election.”

Raffensperger has also been a consistent critic of Georgia’s MAGA-controlled State Board of Elections, viewing the board’s recently rejected rules that would have given the board the power to delay election certification as ‘misdirected’ and likely to stir up ‘chaos’.

And this week in Michigan, which was also ground zero for 2020 election disinformation, a pair of local election officials they were immediately removed from their positions after announcing plans to count ballots on Nov. 5, a violation of state law.

In an Oct. 28 letter to local election officials, Michigan Elections Director Jonathan Brater wrote, according to Detroit Free Pressthat the pair’s plan to hand out ballots will interfere “with the integrity of the election process, undermine county canvasses and jeopardize the ability of candidates to request a recount.” A spokesman for the Michigan Secretary of State’s office told the New York Times, that the removal of these officials from their positions “speaks to the efforts that we will not tolerate any attempt to circumvent the law.”