Steady As He Goes

This Week in Democracy

• President Biden?withdrew from the presidential race?and?endorsed ?Vice President Harris.?A?majority of delegates from?nearly every state ?have endorsed Harris, too, making her the party’s presumptive nominee. Because Biden withdrew before he was formally nominated and before any ballot access deadlines had passed,?election officials have plenty of time to prepare . ?
• U.S. House Speaker?Mike Johnson?and Minority Leader?Hakeem Jeffries?announced ?the creation of a?bipartisan task force?to investigate the attempted assassination of?Donald Trump.?The House Oversight Committee also?held a hearing about the attack ?with Secret Service Director?Kimberly Cheatle.?“There is?no place for political violence of any kind?in our great country,” Reps.?James Comer?and?Jamie Raskin,?the committee’s chair and vice chair,?said in a statement . Cheatle?resigned ?shortly after the hearing. ?
• States United?released?a new interactive resource ?that allows anyone to?explore voter turnout data?from primary and general elections in every state since 2000. It offers a window into how Americans have made their voices heard over the years. “Looking to historical turnout data can help us better understand how to think about turnout in November,” States United Research Director?Kelly Rader?said.

???EXPLORE:?Voter Turnout in American Elections Since 2000

Steady As He Goes

President Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he would end his re-election campaign abruptly changed the state of the presidential race. When it comes to the election administration process, though, it didn’t change much at all.

Still, the state and local officials that will run our elections in November have since been inundated with disinformation and conspiracy theories about the change. Some Election Deniers?threatened ?lawsuits ?based on the disinformation, further setting the stage for them to question the results of the election.

Those theories and threats were quickly dispelled. Trey Grayson, Kentucky’s former two-term Republican Secretary of State and a member of States United’s Bipartisan Advisory Board,?told The Associated Press ,

“It’s a pretty frivolous claim. The filing deadlines haven’t passed yet, and the Democrats haven’t nominated anybody yet."

Election officials across the country—Republicans and Democrats alike—agree. Following Biden’s announcement,?secretaries of state, attorneys general, and numerous other officials from across the country ?reaffirmed that there was more than enough time for the Democratic Party to nominate a new candidate in time for their name to appear on the ballot in November.

On Wednesday evening, Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office.

“Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy,” he said, later adding: “We must unite to protect it.”

Celebrating Disability Pride Month

Our democracy is at its best when every voice is heard, and every vote is counted. For that to happen, though, it’s critical that every voter has the accommodations they need. Nearly 16 million Americans with disabilities voted in the 2022 midterms despite facing difficulties more than three times more frequently than voters without disabilities,?according to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and Rutgers University.

Today marks 34 years since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by President George H. W. Bush.?The ADA and other critical pieces of legislation ?helped our country make great strides towards ensuring that every eligible voter can make their voice heard at the ballot box.

During Disability Pride Month, we recognize Americans with disabilities and celebrate their contributions to our democracy.

In the News

• The New York Times:?Trump Tries to Flip the Script on Democracy After Biden’s Withdrawal “I see this all as just a continued effort to try to cast doubt on our elections, to try to undermine pro-democracy candidates,” said?Joanna Lydgate,?the chief executive of the?States United Democracy Center. ?

• The 19th:?Racist, misogynist online disinformation is already being used against Kamala Harris’ campaign

The potential impact of gendered disinformation includes political violence, said?Joanna Lydgate,?cofounder and CEO of?States United Democracy Center,?a nonpartisan organization that advocates for advancing free, fair and secure elections. She said hateful rhetoric increases political polarization and the tolerance for political violence — with real-world impacts on elected officials like an assassination attempt, a kidnap plot and doxxing. She emphasized the group’s work in training law enforcement to be responsive to these threats. “Whether it’s voter intimidation, election official intimidation, threats, harassment — this is something law enforcement leaders take really seriously,”?Lydgate?said. “It is increasingly becoming part of their job. And there are absolutely consequences for people who step outside the bounds in this way.” ?

• The Nevada Independent:?After Washoe recount and revote, experts say commission’s action undermined democracy

“What happened in Washoe isn’t isolated and it was harmful to the process,” said?Lizzie Ulmer,?senior vice president of strategy and communications at the nonpartisan?States United Democracy Center.?“But what happened in Washoe should also be a warning call to other local officials considering failing to do their jobs or buckling to the pressures of election deniers: It won’t work. The law and the will of the people will prevail.” ?

• Just Security:?Political Violence in the United States Is Rising – and It Might Be Up to Americans to Say “Enough!” By?Rachel Kleinfeld,?member of States United’s Bipartisan Advisory Board ?

• The Associated Press:?State election directors fear the Postal Service can’t handle expected crush of mail-in ballots ?

• The Washington Post:?Historians say Biden’s withdrawal shows American democracy is working ?

• The Washington Post:?Trump allies crush misinformation research despite Supreme Court loss ?

• The Washington Post:?Republicans say they will trust the election results as long as Trump wins ?

• The Guardian:?Election denialism front and center at Republican national convention ?

• CNN:?As the RNC ends, swing states’ efforts to fight misinformation ramp up ahead of the election ?
• CNN:?Supreme Court declines to halt former Colorado official’s trial on charges related to election security breach ?
• ABC News:?Jan. 6 rioters, supporters work to rewrite history of the attack on the Capitol ?

• The Associated Press:?Nevada election officials carry out voter roll maintenance ahead of November election ?

• Politico:?Nevada man accused of leveling death threats at judges in DC, NY

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