Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, Josh McKoon, has called for President Trump to formally recognize the alternate electors as wrongfully charged. He urged support for compensation and review efforts to prevent similar prosecutions in the future. McKoon made his statement in a November 10 social media post on X.
“Words like “exoneration”, “total innocence”, and “wrongfully charged” should be said by President Trump at a White House event with all the Electors,” said McKoon. “To the extent the DOJ has determined these state prosecutions were federally directed, a fund and a claims process should be made available to make the Electors financially whole. A Presidential Task Force should be named to review these circumstances and issue a report with recommendations to make sure this perversion of our criminal justice system never happens again.”
Recent reports indicate that federal pardons granted by Donald Trump in November 2025 included numerous individuals associated with the 2020 “alternate electors” scheme, which was an attempt to overturn the presidential election. CBS News reported that the pardon list referred to “a grave national injustice” and aimed to end the legal exposure of many who claimed to have signed false electoral certifications. Despite these federal pardons, state-level prosecutions remain active in several jurisdictions, highlighting tensions between federal clemency power and state prosecutorial authority.
According to Lawfare, the “fake electors” scheme involved at least 84 individuals across seven battleground states—Georgia, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and New Mexico—who signed alternate certificates claiming Trump as the victor in 2020. Among these states, Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and Nevada had advanced criminal investigations or indictments by late 2024; other states either declined to prosecute or were blocked by legal technicalities.
Research into compensation for wrongful prosecutions reveals that both the federal government and most U.S. states willing to compensate wrongfully incarcerated individuals provide at least $50,000 per year of wrongful incarceration. This is according to a University of Michigan–compiled document summarizing compensation laws. While these laws typically address convicted individuals who are later exonerated, they illustrate potential liability or redress in cases of claims for wrongful prosecution under either federal or state systems.
Josh McKoon is an American attorney and Republican politician who began his public service as a Georgia State Senator from 2011 to 2019. He was elected chairman of the Georgia Republican Party on June 10, 2023. As party chair, he has emphasized election integrity and legal reform efforts within Georgia’s Republican politics.
The Georgia Republican Party serves as the state affiliate of the national Republican National Committee. Its mission includes building party infrastructure across Georgia and supporting Republican candidates while advancing conservative policy goals. Under McKoon’s leadership, the party released a “bold election integrity legislative agenda” in February 2025.
