Why Election Deniers Failed
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Why Election Deniers Failed
Election Deniers?lost races across the country ?last month, gaining almost no new ground for their movement to undermine democracy. New polling from States United Action helps explain why.?
We surveyed voters in August and September in Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The results show that the election results weren’t a fluke or the result of a one-off slate of candidates who couldn’t connect.?
Instead,?the election denial movement itself played a big part in dooming these campaigns. A plurality of voters across the four states, 43%, told us they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who believed the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump.?Across the country, states are making their election results official.
That was also true of the voters who often swing elections—independents and those who don’t vote every time. And the more voters learned about Election Deniers, the less popular they were.?
The poll results were released this week as part of this year’s?final installment ?of Replacing the Refs, our project to track Election Denier candidates across the country. (You can read the report?here ?and learn more about the poll results?here .)??
What was it about this movement that turned Americans off? Voters told us they were most concerned if candidates participated in the Jan. 6 insurrection, encouraged people to threaten election officials, or spread conspiracy theories about our election system.
In short: Election denial simply wasn’t a viable political strategy. And voters don’t like violence, harassment, and lies.?
As encouraging as the election results were, Election Deniers aren’t going away. Some losing candidates have?refused to concede . Others have?started campaigning ?to control state parties. More will run in 2024.?
And 31% of Americans will still have at least one Election Denier overseeing their elections, in part because 10 incumbents won in November.?Other ?threats to our democracy persist beyond the ballot box.?
So the work goes on. We’ll keep fighting to?protect our elections ,?prevent political violence ,?stop disinformation , and?push for accountability —even as we celebrate a resounding victory for our democracy this year.?
State of the States
In Arizona,?Secretary of State Katie Hobbs’s office asked the state attorney general to investigate two Cochise County supervisors for potential violations of law after they?initially refused to certify ?the county’s election results. The county Board of Supervisors certified the results?only after a judge ordered it to , and four days after the deadline under state law. During an earlier meeting, the board argued without evidence that it had concerns about the certification of vote-counting machines. One supervisor later said that was?mostly a pretext . In a?letter to Attorney General Mark Brnovich , the secretary of state’s office wrote that the two supervisors “chose to act in violation of the law, putting false election narratives ahead of Cochise County’s voters.” The letter asked Brnovich to investigate and “take appropriate enforcement action.”?
In Georgia,?Michael Flynn, who served as national security adviser to former President Trump,?appeared before the special grand jury ?investigating whether Trump and his allies criminally interfered with the results of the 2020 election. Fani Willis, the prosecutor overseeing the investigation, previously said in court papers that she wanted Flynn to testify about his participation in a December 2020 White House meeting at which the former president and others?reportedly discussed ?invoking martial law and seizing voting machines. Flynn appeared before the special grand jury after a Florida appeals court?rejected his attempt ?to avoid testifying. A bipartisan group of former law enforcement officials, represented by the States United Democracy Center, had urged the appeals court to rule against Flynn. A Georgia prosecutor said at a recent hearing that only a few witnesses are left to appear before the special grand jury.??
In the News
The New York Times:?Trump’s Call for ‘Termination’ of Constitution Draws Rebukes . By Maggie Astor?
“The explicit suggestion of suspending the Constitution was astonishing even by the standards of Mr. Trump, who has spent the past two years spreading lies about the 2020 election, which he lost, and promoting various illegal mechanisms for overturning it.”?
The Washington Post: Giuliani ‘weaponized’ law license in Trump election suit, D.C. Bar argues . By Keith L. Alexander?
“During his testimony before the D.C. Board on Professional Responsibility of the D.C. Bar, Giuliani at times minimized his role in a lawsuit that falsely alleged the November 2020 general presidential election was wrought with fraud in the key state of Pennsylvania after President Biden was declared winner.”?
NBC: Jan. 6 rioter who warned of ‘siege’ is sentenced to 3 years . By Phil Helsel?
“A South Carolina man who had warned of a siege on the U.S. Capitol ‘if the electoral votes don’t go right’ was sentenced to three years in prison in the Jan. 6 attack, prosecutors said Tuesday. … Tenney was among thousands of rioters who stormed into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and was the first rioter to open a set of doors to the Rotunda from inside, prosecutors said.”?
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CBS: Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson still facing threats stemming from 2020 election . By Arden Farhi?
“Last month, Michigan voters rendered their verdict on Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, sending her back to Lansing for a second term to oversee the state's elections. She comfortably defeated her Donald Trump-backed opponent by 14 percentage points. And yet, Benson told CBS News, threats from election deniers that started after the 2020 election have not stopped.” ?
AP: Prosecutors in Whitmer Kidnap Plot Say Life Sentence Fits . By Ed White?
“Federal prosecutors told a judge Monday that a life prison sentence would be justified for the leader of a plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, saying his goal to turn the country upside down in 2020 was a forerunner of rampant anti-government extremism. ‘If our elected leaders must live in fear, our representative government suffers. A plan to kidnap and harm the governor of Michigan is not only a threat to the officeholder but to democracy itself,’ Assistant U.S. Attorney Nils Kessler wrote.”?
Fox 17:?AG Nessel speaks out against reports of ‘interference’ during recounts . By staff?
“‘Recent reports of threatening behavior and interference at locations [where] recounts are taking place cause unnecessary disturbances and may rise to the level of criminal acts,’ Nessel wrote on Wednesday. She said her department is monitoring the situation closely and said her department ‘will not hesitate to act should circumstances demand a response from law enforcement.’”?
AP via Las Vegas Sun: Outgoing elections head in Clark County details threats . By Gabe Stern?
“In an interview with The Associated Press on Monday, a month before he is scheduled to step down as Clark County Registrar of Voters, Gloria spoke about the high turnover rates of Nevada election officials, the need for more elections training throughout the state and detailed the threats and harassment he had largely kept quiet about while on the job.”?
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Video of the Week!
At the Bipartisan Policy Center’s 2022 Elections Summit,?Ranjana Natarajan, States United’s Senior Vice President for Programs,?moderated a panel discussion ?on threats to democracy, infrastructure, and election officials. She was joined by Colorado Secretary of State?Jena Griswold,?Mary McCord?of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law,?Rachel Orey?of BPC’s Elections Project, and?Noah Praetz of The Elections Group.?
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About the States United Democracy Center:
The States United Democracy Center is a nonpartisan organization advancing free, fair, and secure elections. We focus on connecting state officials, law enforcement leaders, and pro-democracy partners across America with the tools and expertise they need to safeguard our democracy. We are more than a think tank—we are an action tank. And together, we are committed to making sure every vote is counted, every voice is heard, and every election is safe. To learn more, visit?www.statesuniteddemocracy.org .
About States United Action
States United Action is a nonpartisan section 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization with a mission to protect our elections and our democracy. States United Action advocates for policies that protect election integrity, hold democracy violators accountable, and prevent political violence that threatens to undermine the will of the American people, and amplifies the voices of state leaders and law enforcement leaders who share these values. To learn more, visit?www.statesuniteddemocracy.org/states-united-action.
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Architect
1 年Thanks for the post. It's frustrating the term "election denier" is something that has entered the public lexicon.