2024 Elections
Election Denialism Poses Imminent Threats to Our Democracy
In an already unprecedented and chaotic election year, what we have witnessed in the last week and a half has changed American politics and history forever. As we wait to learn which names will occupy the ballot in November, it remains clear that large swaths of U.S. voters doubt the security of our election systems. On social media, disinformation continues to run rampant and shows no signs of slowing, a warning sign that election denialism persists in plaguing our democracy.
Even more alarming is the lack of state policies in place to deter election denialism. According to MAP’s Election Denial Risk Index, more than two in three American voters — 157 million people — live in states with at least a moderate risk of election denialism jeopardizing future elections. What’s more, 29 million voters live in a state with a high risk of election denialism, as outlined in MAP’s report.
The key threats that result from election denialism are far-reaching and are pushing our democracy to the brink of chaos. Threats include election deniers infiltrating election offices, interference in standard post-election processes, harassment and violence targeting nonpartisan election officials, restricting voting rights, and more.
At its core, election denialism is a rejection of democracy. The nature of a healthy republic requires that free and fair elections are a cornerstone of U.S. democracy — not a rigged system where politicians can overturn the will of the voters and the legitimate results of an election. Not only does election denialism further erode public trust in elections and institutions, but it feeds into a broader set of threats to our democracy.
This brief details five key threats to our democracy that result from election denialism and explains the policies in place that can counter them.
Threat 1: Undermining Public Trust in Elections with False Narratives
An ongoing core threat is election deniers who undermine the public’s trust with false narratives of fraud and then offer so-called “solutions” that infringe on democracy and restrict voting rights. One example of these is the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (“SAVE”) Act, a nationwide proof of citizenship bill that passed the House in July 2024.
Alternatively, statewide voting rights acts provide critical protections so that all eligible voters can participate in democracy by prohibiting racial discrimination in election administration and ensuring consistent election procedures across all local jurisdictions.
Currently, only eight states have a statewide voting rights act. Even more, federal voting legislation like the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act would result in a dramatic shift in ensuring a stronger democracy nationwide.
Threat 2: Election Deniers Attempting to Shape How Elections are Administered
To counter election deniers infiltrating the system, policies implementing nonpartisan election administration as well as measures to counter insider threats are critical.
Forty-one states and D.C. routinely conduct truly independent, nonpartisan audits after an election, which allows states to ensure accurate vote counts. However, only 13 states go even further to ensure the accuracy and integrity of election results by implementing risk-limiting audits, which use statistical methods to ensure even stronger verification of vote results.
Threat 3: Harassment and Violence Against Election Officials
The ultimate goal of the rising harassment and violence against election officials is to interfere with election results.
Viable ways to bolster against this threat include enacting laws to protect election officials, increasing funding for elections to ensure security measures, and other proper infrastructure. Currently 16 states and D.C. have laws to specifically protect election officials.
Threat 4: Interference in Post-Election Processes
In the last two election cycles we saw numerous attempts to subvert legitimate election results by interfering in post-election processes.
States can protect against this by limiting partisan involvement in post-election procedures, increasing penalties for election subversion, and limiting frivolous recount requests. When election administration is properly conducted by nonpartisan professionals, election results are protected against insider threats.
Threat 5: Election Disinformation
Among the insidious threats jeopardizing our democracy is rampant disinformation that plants doubt in the minds of American voters.
To answer this growing threat, some states have implemented deterrence measures to attempt to slow the spread of disinformation that directly impacts voters.
Specifically, this type of legislation prohibits the knowing dissemination of false information regarding the time, place and manner of conducting elections, as well as false or misleading information about the qualifications or restrictions related to voter eligibility. These laws generally work by imposing criminal penalties on persons who knowingly violate the disinformation prohibitions, with some states also allowing voters to whom the false information is directed, to seek a court order against the person who communicated the information. Currently, only 11 states have a law explicitly protecting against election disinformation.
Fortunately, the false claims of election deniers did not ultimately upend our elections in the 2022 midterms. However, election deniers still pose serious threats to our democracy in 2024. Through policies designed to protect voting rights, insulate election administration systems from partisan actors, protect election officials from threats, and increase voter confidence, our democracy can be protected, preserved, and even further strengthened as we look to the years ahead.
▸▸ Learn more
- Read MAP’s full-text report, How Election Denialism Threatens Our Democracy and the Safeguards We Need to Defend It.
- Follow MAP on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to stay connected with our work.
