Rosie Tripp

Role

Rosie Tripp — Former Socorro County Commissioner.

The New Mexico elector certificate

Rosie Tripp was one of five New Mexico Republicans who met at Republican Party of New Mexico headquarters on December 14, 2020 and signed a "Certificate of the Votes" for Donald Trump and Mike Pence. UNLIKE the certificates signed in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, New Mexico's certificate contained explicit conditional language: the signers certified their votes "on the understanding that it might later be determined that we are the duly elected and qualified electors" -- a hedged, contingent framing tied to a pending lawsuit challenging New Mexico's results, not an assertion of present legitimacy.

Legal proceedings

New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez's office investigated the New Mexico certificate and, in a January 2024 report, concluded that the conditional wording and witness statements indicating the signers believed the document would take effect only if pending litigation succeeded meant state forgery and fraud statutes could not be met. The Attorney General declined to file criminal charges against Rosie Tripp or any of the other four signers, and instead recommended new legislation to close the gap for any future conduct of this kind.

Connection to the incident

See 2020 Fake Elector Scheme for the coordinated multi-state effort. New Mexico's certificate, like Pennsylvania's, used conditional language distinct from the unconditional certificates signed in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin.