The Pressing Threat of Election Denial

By Emily Jones

As the 2022 Midterm Elections were on their way, the concept of election denial became more discussed and apparent in the United States political system and scheme, and it is this concept of election denial that distresses a large number of experts who study democracy today. As a result of the “election fraud” claimed by former President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, the concept of election denial, the claim that the process or result of an election is illegitimate, has become very prominent in American politics. This concept plays a role in the 2022 Midterm Elections, because it is these elections that were predicted to bring a wave of election deniers into Congress and top state-level jobs that oversee elections in every region of the country. This statement was supported by an analysis completed by The Post’s Amy Gardener, which stated that more than half of the Republican candidates for the Midterm Elections denied the 2020 presidential election results. After the Midterm Elections were completed it was released that a number of prominent Republican officials who doubted the validity of the 2020 election were reelected; this group includes, Senators Ron Johnson, Rand Paul, John Kennedy and Mike Lee, and Representatives Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor-Green, Kevin McCarthy, and Paul Gosar. Although this is not the full list of election deniers who were either elected or reelected, it demonstrates the mass of officials who do not hold trust in the American government and political system, which could result in extremely detrimental impacts on American citizens’ views of the American election system. Not only will this possible shift in attitudes towards America’s election system divide the nation, but it will decrease the population’s confidence in the government, therefore causing an increase in skepticism regarding the American election system and American democracy as a whole. 

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The Catalyst