Election Deniers May Soon Control Voting Across The Country

In the upcoming November 8 midterms, at least 14 candidates running for the office of secretary of state, which oversees elections in each state, have openly denied the validity of Joe Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential elections.

Former President Donald Trump lost the 2020 US presidential elections to Joe Biden, a fact to which, to this day, he has never admitted publicly. Trump’s promotion of the “big lie,” or the idea that the 2020 elections were “stolen” from Trump by the Biden-supporting government machine, resulted in the January 6 attacks on the US Capitol. On January 6, 2021, while Biden’s victory was being finalized in the US Congress, hundreds of Trump’s supporters were encouraged by the man himself to storm the US Capitol, resulting in the deaths of at least seven people.

Even after January 6, Trump did not step back from his election denial, which had so effectively fomented his base of support and cemented their loyalty. As a result, 70% of those in the Republican Party believe that Joe Biden stole the 2020 elections. In the upcoming November 8 midterms, many of the most prominent Republican candidates for office perpetuate Trump’s big lie. Amongst these election deniers are at least 14 are running for the highest office which oversees state and nationwide elections within each state: the secretary of state. Election deniers are running for secretary of state in Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Vermont, Wyoming, and South Dakota. Many of these are swing states, or states that are neither solidly Republican or Democrat and therefore are key during presidential elections. If any of these candidates win, and a pro-Trump election denier becomes responsible for overseeing elections, the 2024 presidential elections could result in a national crisis.

Although there are at least 14 election deniers running for the office of secretary of state, a few candidates have become particularly notable.