In 2022, America’s democracy survived an enormous test.
As a movement to sow doubt about American elections grew – fomented by Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 race – the 2022 election ran largely smoothly. Eligible votes were counted and the valid winners of contests were seated in office.
But as the country enters 2023, and begins to look towards another high-stakes presidential election, the threat to American democracy is far from over. Here are some of the key issues to pay attention to around voting rights this year and beyond.
Last year, there was deep concern about a new poison in American politics – efforts to undermine and even overturn election results.
In November, the vast majority of Republicans who questioned election results lost their bids to become the top election official in many states, a position from which they could have used their enormous influence over election rules to sow chaos.
Despite those losses, it doesn’t look like election denialism is going away anytime soon. After the midterm elections, some local officials resisted efforts to certify the election, prompting court action to force them to do so. There were some post-election lawsuits in Arizona in which GOP candidates falsely claimed widespread problems had caused Republicans races. Election deniers also won races for key election roles at the local level and in statewide races in Indiana, Wyoming, South Dakota and Alabama.
It’s also unclear...
By Andrew Goudsward WASHINGTON, May 6 (Reuters) – A U.S. judge on Wednesday ruled that the Justice Department can keep 2020 election ballots seized during an FBI search in January, a win for Presi...