Hundreds of public officials in five key states have denied election results, attempted to overturn an election, or made statements aimed at undermining an election, according to a new study.
The study identified 334 such officials in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Wisconsin, ranging from a state’s second-highest elected official to local boards that certify election results. These closely divided states will likely decide the 2024 presidential election.
The study by Public Wise, a left-leaning nonprofit group that advocates for representative democracy, is the most comprehensive study to date of state and local public officials who have power over elections but whose commitment to electoral fairness has been called into question.
Most of the officials identified by Public Wise are state legislators, and many have signed letters asking various state and federal officials to obstruct Joe Biden’s victory in 2020. Others include elected county commissioners, elected county sheriffs, municipal officials, and appointees to handle day-to-day election administration or make routine approvals on vote certification.
Christina Baal, executive director of Public Wise, said the organization is “sounding the alarm” about what could happen this year, based on what these people have said and done in the past.
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“We think these people are going to try to … deny the election results that are valid,” Baal said. “And I wouldn’t be surprised if we see that when we look at the presidential election or even local elections.”
Names include:
- Georgia Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, a Republican, a Trump, fake voter which is under investigation for his role in helping Trump attempt to overturn the 2020 election in Fulton County.
- Don Millis and Robert F. Spindell, Republican members of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, the national entity that certifies elections. Millis evaded a question on whether Biden won the state in 2020. Spindell served as a fake voter.
- Bob Bartelsmeyer, director of elections in La Paz County, Arizona, who shared false information about the 2020 elections on social media and I said something was wrong about this election.
- Robert Boyd, a Republican member of the four-member local board responsible for certifying elections in Wayne County, Michigan, which includes Detroit. Boyd said he would not have voted to certify the 2020 presidential results.
- Mary Potter Summa and Elizabeth McDowell, board member and secretary of the Board of Elections for Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, which includes Charlotte. The two Republicans have voted against certification of results of elections.
USA TODAY contacted all of the officials named above but received no response. Several officials defended their positions in interviews with other media outlets.
Officials say they support election integrity
Spindell told the Associated Press last year, “The last thing I want to do is suppress votes.”
Bartelsmeyer qualified his position in January in a interview with CNN when he said: “Sometimes it’s hard for me to accept that no mistakes were made in the election, but I’m not sure it was enough to change the election.” »
The Republican Party in Mecklenburg County says: “Electoral integrity is the cornerstone of any democratic system” which “ensures that the will of the people is accurately reflected in the outcome of elections.”
Before labeling someone a denialist or an election threat, Public Wise said it looked for advocacy ways to undermine an election, such as sending a letter calling for a national election audit or co-sponsoring a election. A resolution to decertify legitimate voters in 2020. They also examined support for the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol and public posts that implied they were denying the results of the 2020 or 2022 elections.
The group says those on the list risk enacting laws that “may undermine fair election processes,” may “endorse appointees who undermine election integrity,” abuse their enforcement power of the law or “illegally interfere in elections”, among other things.
Other studies have identified people as potential election threats, but none have listed as many people in battleground states. A study of two branches of the University of California qualified in 2023 229 people in 40 states as “election deniers”. A dark money group called States United Action, which runs ElectionDeniers.org, has identified 179 state and local candidates in 47 states.
“It’s a very organized movement that’s taking over these smaller, lesser-known offices,” Baal said. “Some of them are running in low-turnout elections. Some of them are running unopposed. Some of them are named. And this is how they gain power.
