No one expected the media to play fair, but Saturday was still an agonizing experience for tens of millions of Americans. Watching the networks declare Joe Biden the winner of a race that’s still unresolved in key states was not only difficult — but frustrating for fans of the democratic process. Just 48 hours earlier, the former vice president had urged “patience.” “Democracy sometimes is messy,” he admitted. And it doesn’t get messier than right now, with court challenges and fraud allegations tearing at the edges of our country’s frayed nerves. But in the end, Joe didn’t take his own advice. Instead, he pounced on the results and accepted a mantle that not everyone believes is yet his.

The AP, who gushed over Biden’s win in pieces that many mistook as actual journalism, took a decidedly more measured approach in a follow-up column, warning “Saturday’s verdict isn’t the last step.” Far from it, House Minority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) pointed out. “We’re really at the beginning of the legal side of this.” Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) agrees, reminding people, “The 2000 presidential race concluded on December 13 — five weeks after that election… While the mainstream media and Big Tech want to immediately declare a winner, the American people have and can again wait a couple days or weeks more to guarantee the legitimacy of this election. The strength of our democratic republic is at stake.”

When all is said and done, Joe Biden may very well be the winner. But if he wants to unite this country, as he claims he does, then the best thing his campaign can do is let the process play out — and part of that process is making sure the rule of law was respected. Leaders in several states believe it wasn’t. In fact, Attorneys General Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and Daniel Cameron (R-Ky.) are the latest to sign on to a lawsuit challenging the mail-in ballots that could eventually decide Pennsylvania. But it’s not just Pennsylvania that had issues, some say. There were other irregularities in swing states like Michigan that our country needs to get to the bottom of — not just for the sake of this election, but every election that comes after. Maybe it won’t change the outcome, but if the former vice president is so confident about the race, then he shouldn’t be the least bit concerned about waiting for the evidence to prove it.

Even now, less than a week removed from one of the closest races in recent memory, the Biden campaign is already pressuring the General Services Administration (GSA) to approve the transition of power — even though the votes haven’t even been certified! A spokesperson made it quite clear that the agency will “continue to abide by and fulfill all requirements under the law.” That means, GSA Administrator Emily Murphy will only initiate a transition “when a winner is clear based on the process laid out in the Constitution.” Unfortunately for the country, that process seems to differ greatly from the radical media’s, which has obviously abandoned its cautious approach from 2000. Instead, news outlets rushed to anoint their favored candidate before the legal votes had even been counted.

Legal expert Jonathan Turley, who is no Trump apologist, was as stunned by that as anyone.

“It was an odd thing to have so many people coming out and saying, ‘There is no case to be made here.’ We’re still in the tabulation stage. You know, the information that would reflect a systemic problem or large numbers of balloting errors would come at the next stage, at the canvassing stage. Most of this information is held by election officials. And it often takes a court order to get that information to the opposing party.”

Of course, he pointed out, “The odds dramatically favor Vice President Biden — but what I don’t understand is how so many people want these challenges to end and for there to be just simply a concession.” There are electoral problems in this country, he reminded everyone. “[P]eople still believe we didn’t take enough time in Florida [in 2000], and [believe] that Al Gore may have won Florida and won the presidency. So, there is no reason not to look at the allegations, to give 71 million people who voted for Trump that sense of assurance that nothing untoward occurred and that their votes really did count. Now, can they really overcome these margins? Probably not, but we don’t know what we’re talking about here.”

In the meantime, House Republicans are signaling their intent to hang in for the long haul, writing to Attorney General William Barr to ask the DOJ to do everything in its power to verify that election laws were followed. “While each state runs its own election process, the United States Department of Justice is ultimately responsible for the integrity of federal elections. The American people must have the utmost confidence that the outcome of the presidential election is legitimate,” the letter said. “What are you doing to ensure the integrity of the voting and counting process right now?” the group, which included House Freedom Caucus chair Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.).

While this is all being sorted out, John Fund said on “Washington Watch,” every American should have an eye on the future — and stopping the kind of shenanigans that created this mess in the first place. “We’re seeing the bitter fruits of [the Left’s] silent coup in our election laws.” This all started in February and March when the Democrats “decided to push a wholesale change” in how our country votes. Using the cover of COVID, rules were undemocratically changed or ignored altogether. That cannot stand.

“We should have mail-in ballots, but we should not have [them at rates of] 80 percent, 60 percent, 50 percent. We should have 10, 15, 20 percent, maybe. Election Day is not supposed to be election month.” And now, thanks to the Left’s scheming, it’s hard to tell “where the incompetence ends, and the potential fraud begins.” That’s why Donald Trump’s legal challenges matter. If all he does is manage to put a spotlight on the corruption and bring some accountability to the process, none of this will be in vain.

For more on the foul play in Philadelphia, check out Ken Blackwell’s new column, “Governor Wolf and His Legion of Darkness Must be Stopped in Pennsylvania.”

This is a publication of the Family Research Council. Mr. Perkins is president of FRC.