What if State Officials Overruled the Will of the People?
It Could Happen. Election Deniers are being Nominated to Positions of Power.
Labor Day weekend opens the traditional final sprint into election season, culminating in the November general election. In this midterm election cycle, politicians who continue to support the "Big Lie" — that President Joseph R. Biden did not win the 2020 election due to widespread voter fraud — are increasingly being nominated to positions of authority in several key "swing" states. These offices, such as Secretary of State, oversee statewide elections, while the office of Governor has the power to certify electoral slates. All of these nominated politicians belong to the Republican Party.
According to a Washington Post analysis, nearly two-thirds of GOP nominees for state and federal offices with authority over elections deny the legitimacy of the 2020 Presidential election. Among candidates who have won their 2022 primary contests, 54 out of 87 candidates are election deniers, and the offices in which they are nominated have a role in the election certification process. Election deniers have been nominated in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — all pivotal swing states under the Electoral College system.
In its analysis, The Washington Post defined an “election denier” as someone who has:
Publicly denied President Biden’s 2020 victory
Opposed the counting of Biden’s Electoral College votes
Expressed support for a partisan post-election ballot review
Signed onto a lawsuit seeking to overturn the 2020 result
Attended, or expressed support for, the “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6, 2021.
Although U.S. elections are considered national events, they are run by the states. Positions such as Secretary of State, Governor, and Attorney General assume the role of “referees” as they operationalize, oversee and eventually certify elections. According to States United for Democracy, an advocacy group monitoring these state races, more than half of Secretary of State contests include an election denier, and one-third of contests for Governor and Attorney General have an election denier going into the November midterm election (as of late July). These are the positions of authority that will oversee the 2024 Presidential election.
A close Presidential contest in 2024 in pivotal states where officials are willing to overturn a result they do not like could throw the Nation into chaos and undermine confidence in the democratic process. The legitimacy of American democracy ultimately depends on the voters believing that elections are trustworthy and fair.
Obviously these candidates would still need to win their November general election contests. But if they do win — having campaigned on the issue — they may claim a mandate to address their constituents’ grievances by whatever means necessary. As a Nevada election attorney quoted in the Post article stated:
“[A]ll the little things that run an election go through these people. So you could not just gum up an election. You could destroy it.”
Dear Readers, we need to deny the deniers. As we head into the final stretch this midterm election cycle, PLEASE VOTE. Implore your family members, friends, co-workers and social media contacts to vote. Vote like your democracy depends on it.
Because it does.