The 2024 primaries and general election will serve as a stress test for American democracy. They will also send a signal to allies and adversaries around the world about the durability and influence of American institutions. Although the 2022 midterm elections and several 2023 state level competition While voter engagement remains high, the shadow of 2020 still looms over the vote.
With all this in mind, Just safety is expanding its election protection coverage to address a series of questions: Will candidates accept the election results? Will the public do it? Can election administrators maintain public confidence in the free and fair nature of elections amid ever-changing laws and court rulings and the specter of misinformation? Will threats of election violence and other forms of repression discourage voters from exercising their rights? Will cyberthreats decrease confidence in elections or actually interfere with voting? What is the threat flow regarding foreign interference? What are the known unknowns? These questions are closely related to questions about the strength of American democratic institutions more broadly and solutions to democratic backsliding.
Former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud in 2020, his efforts to remain in power despite his defeat, and the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol posed a profound challenge to U.S. elections and norms democratic. The ideas that fueled January 6 again have traction among the American public and continue to animate Trump’s campaign for his return to power. Combating misinformation and its less deliberate cousin, misinformation, will require active communication to inform voters about how elections work and the many processes in place to ensure election security. It will also require efforts to combat the spread of this misinformation, a task that social media platforms must accomplish. maybe not up to parand in which the role of the federal government is now be in dispute before the Supreme Court.
Efforts to improve American democracy and prevent a rollback remain active, as do a range of threats. Election deniers exercise an elective mandate and other positions of power. The United States is also not immune to the authoritarian impulses seen in other countries, including Germany And Italyand, more seriously, in Hungary.
The sustainability of democracy is not guaranteed. This requires buy-in from voters, elected officials and other opinion leaders. In the years since the 2020 presidential election, this has required intense work, which often went unnoticed by a public busy with other issues until the next four years. As the U.S. presidential race and state and local elections approach, there is an increasing need to understand the strains on the U.S. electoral system, as well as what can be done to ensure free and fair elections. , not only in 2024, but in 2028. , 2032, during off-peak years, and well beyond.
Just safety Coverage of US election protection issues continues with the articles below. Stay tuned here for new installments as they are released. And check out our continued coverage of voting rights. Readers may also be interested in our analysis of elections problems in the world as well.
