Democrats are rightly euphoric about what is happening in the 2024 presidential campaign. Vice President Kamala Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) have changed the vibe for the upcoming election and tapped into a hunger for the politics of joy.

That is all for the good. But it shouldn't distract them — or the rest of us — from what is likely to unfold if Democrats prevail on Nov. 5.

If we needed a wake-up call, Donald Trump gave it to us in a rally in Atlanta on Aug. 3. The Republican nominee echoed a familiar refrain when he told his audience, “Now there's two things we have to do. We have to vote, and we have to stop them (Democrats) from cheating.”

But he didn’t stop there.

“I don't know if you've heard,” the former president said, “but the Georgia State Election Board is in a very positive way … they are on fire. They are doing a great job.”

Trump singled out three Republican members of the board, Janice Johnston, Janelle King and Rick Jeffares, whom he called “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory.”

Victory? How odd to put a partisan spotlight on three obscure election officials.

Odd, but revealing — Trump's use of the word “victory” signals that the post-election work of the election board in Georgia and elsewhere is a key part of his campaign strategy.

The strategy is designed to sow chaos and confusion if he loses the popular vote. But out of that chaos and confusion, Trump hopes that state election officials will either declare him the winner or create a situation in which the House of Representatives, where Republicans are in control, gets to decide who should take the oath of office on Jan. 20, 2025.

Democrats and everyone who cares about the survival of American democracy need to prepare now for what will unfold after the votes have been counted in November. A lot of work must be done to ensure that the........

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