Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes is pictured on the first day of the legislative session at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes joined 50 other attorneys general “calling for peace nationwide” with regard to the results of the Tuesday presidential election.
In a press release on Monday, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said he and the other AGs were responding to national polls “highlighting widespread concerns among Americans about potential post-election unrest.”
“Regardless of the outcome of Tuesday’s election, we expect that Americans will respond peacefully and we condemn any acts of violence related to the results,” the release stated. “A peaceful transfer of power is the highest testament to the rule of law, a tradition that stands at the heart of our nation’s stability.”
The release did not specify the national polls referenced by the coalition. At the end of October, an Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll showed 4 in 10 registered voters were “extremely” or “very” concerned about the use of violence in response to the results of the November general election.
The AGs joining Yost and Reyes represent Connecticut, Kansas, Oregon, Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, the Northern Mariana Islands, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, the Virgin Islands, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Violence, the coalition stated, “has no place in the democratic process; we will exercise our authority to enforce the law against any illegal acts that threaten it.”
The comments come after former president and GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump said he “shouldn’t have left” office after he lost the 2020 election, among other comments, including some already questioning whether the Tuesday election will be legitimate. Trump has consistently refused to accept the results of the 2020 election.
Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David Dewitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on Facebook and X.