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Two years of sustained disinformation campaigns and conspiracy theories about the 2020 election are causing disruptions and instability as early voting for the midterm election continues in most states.
In Arizona, people who believe the lies of former President Donald Trump and his allies that the 2020 presidential election was stolen are filming and harassing voters, looking for supposed “mules” stuffing ballot boxes. Some of the self-appointed election watchers there have been armed.
In North Carolina and other states, far-right activists have gone door to door, asking residents to sign legal documents attesting they are registered to vote at their address. Other conspiracy theorists have signed up to be poll workers and election observers, hoping to find cracks in a system they’re convinced is corrupt.
Meanwhile, election-denying candidates are vying for secretary of state, county clerk and other positions of election administrative leadership in multiple states. If they win, they could use false fraud allegations to overturn future election results.
Election officials and experts are increasingly concerned that lies and falsehoods have left the U.S. election system vulnerable to disruptions and a crisis of confidence. But they also emphasize that voters have the power to see through the curtain of misinformation and ensure American democracy survives.
Elections are highly decentralized in the U.S., with 10,000 election offices facilitating voting nationwide, but there are clear procedures in place to ensure elections are accurate, said Daniel Griffith, senior policy director of the Secure Democracy Foundation, which this month published a 14-state look at how elections are tabulated and verified.
“There are checks and rechecks,” he said. “It’s a system to repel chaos. But some of these folks we’re dealing with — a small, but vocal minority — are there to manufacture chaos.”
Trump and other election deniers have taken advantage of many voters’ lack of knowledge about the election process to spin their false narrative that the election was stolen. Public education is critical in countering those lies, said Amber McReynolds, a member of the National Task Force on Election Crises, a bipartisan network of election experts.
McReynolds noted that the 2020 election was the most secure, observed, audited and litigated election in American history. The grift and lies that have followed Trump’s defeat are dangerous and heartbreaking, she said.
“Many of us expected drama after the 2020 election,” said McReynolds, who served as an election official in Denver for 13 years and now serves on the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors. “I don’t think any of us expected what it turned into: this sustained attack on the election process.”
Nearly six in 10 Americans will have an election denier on the ballot this year to oversee elections, according to the group.
Americans have already seen the impact of having conspiracy theorists at the helm of local elections. In Colorado, one county clerk was barred from overseeing elections after she was indicted for misconduct and tampering with election equipment. Law enforcement also launched investigations into improper access to voting equipment in Georgia and Michigan counties during the 2020 election.
Voters can help the midterms run smoothly by checking their registration status and other election details with their state or local election offices, Patrick of Democracy Fund said. Knowing where and when to vote is crucial, she said, especially after the redistricting process. If they vote by mail, voters should turn in their ballot early and track their return online. Patrick also encouraged voters to serve as poll workers.
“Voters are still in the driver’s seat,” she said. “Many of the things that got us through 2020 will get us through this.”
This story was edited for length and originally published at Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Read the full story here.
