ELECTION INTEGRITYBeyond the Results, the Midterms Can Tell Us a Lot About How American Democracy Is Faring
Election night and the days immediately before and after will provide valuable insights into the health of democracy in the United States. Here are four things to watch.
On Tuesday, when we sit down, turn on our televisions, and subject ourselves to the inevitable “who’s up, who’s down?” horse race coverage throughout the evening, these elections will reveal more than just which party gets to control Congress for the next two years. They’ll also provide a real-time update on the state of democracy in the United States, and what the future might hold.
More than 70 percent of Americans—Democrats, Republicans, and independents alike—say that “democracy is under threat.” This poses any number of deeply concerning problems, chief among them—aside from the alarming possibility of losing the core founding principle of the republic, and all the freedoms and rights that come with it—is the prospect that, in the absence of democratic means by which to decide the country’s path, more and more people could turn to undemocratic methods. This could lead to some very bad, existence-threatening places. The United States is not there yet, but vigilance is essential to keep this existential threat at bay. Here are some things to watch for, other than just who won and who lost:
Violence
Will there be violence? When it comes to assessing the state of democracy in the United States, this is an unfortunately pertinent question. Last week, an assailant wielding a hammer attacked the husband of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-California) in their home; the attacker had planned to question the speaker and break her kneecaps if she “lied.” According to reporting, the perpetrator’s social media accounts contained posts claiming the 2020 election was fraudulent and that shadowy elites plan to use the pandemic to abolish private property and enslave millions. This is just the latest in a string of recent, similarly worrying events. On Friday, the Justice Department issued a message to law enforcement warning of a “heightened threat” of ideologically driven violence against candidates, election workers, and others.
