Voter Intimidation Is An Antidemocratic Abomination

In the past week, reports have emerged of armed actors showing up at ballot drop boxes, spouting “big lie” messaging and other conspiracy theories, with the express aim of intimidation.

It’s no surprise. The 2020 election was marked by the activities of bigoted groups and elected officials promoting dangerous disinformation, with Trump as their ringleader. Over the last two years, that threat has only grown. White nationalist and other bigoted and anti-democracy groups have continued to further embed themselves in our national politics, using conspiracy theories as the accelerant for their growth. Now, instances of electoral disinformation, voter intimidation, and the targeting of public officials have become disturbingly regular occurrences.

We learned in 2020 that those of us who believe in democracy cannot ignore these threats. Unfortunately, bigoted and anti-democracy actors also learned from 2020, and this time around they are more organized. Groups intent on subverting democracy have worked to install their supporters as formal election observers and organized groups of people to monitor and intimidate voters at ballot drop boxes.

Their goal is to intimidate voters–to intimidate all Americans who oppose bigotry and authoritarianism. But we must refuse to be intimidated.