Today is the last day of voting in US mid-term elections. This is what we’re reading while waiting for final results.
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Democracy depends on the honesty and integrity of those who lose elections. No election, no bill, no campaign is worth sacrificing the American experiment.
What We’re Reading - Respecting and Protecting the Process
Lynn Vavrek, UCLA political scientist in The New York Times Hillary Clinton Accepted Her Loss, but a Lot Has Changed Since 2016
”It wasn’t so long ago that candidates who lost elections — even narrowly or in unusual circumstances — understood the fundamental importance of a peaceful transfer of power. In 1960, Richard Nixon told supporters that “one of the great features of America” is that hard-fought political contests end, and people “unite behind the man who is elected.” Nixon, who presided in Congress over his own loss in the Electoral College, pledged his “wholehearted support” to his opponent, John F. Kennedy, and asked his supporters to do the same.”
The New York Times Fears and Suspicion Hang Over Voting on Cusp of Election Day
”Even as voting goes smoothly, the 2022 midterm elections have exposed the toll Donald J. Trump’s falsehoods have taken on American democracy.”
The Brookings Institution Democracy on the ballot—will election-denying litigation succeed?
”Instigating mistrust and crisis are integral pieces of the election-denial movement’s apparent plan. A constellation of plaintiffs in the most closely divided states may be poised to use new and preexisting lawsuits—or appeal earlier decisions to different courts—to gum up the election certification process and sow doubt about the results.”
Al Jazeera Eroding trust: How election deniers endanger US democracy
”Experts say deniers may not be able to overturn elections but they weaken public confidence in democratic institutions.”
Katherine Clayton, Nicholas T. Davis, Brendan Nyhan, Ethan Porter, Timothy J. Ryan, and Thomas J. Wood in PNAS Elite rhetoric can undermine democratic norms
”Democracies depend on candidates and parties affirming the legitimacy of election results even when they lose. These statements help maintain confidence that elections are free and fair and thereby facilitate the peaceful transfer of power.”
What We’re Asking
Which candidates and elected officials will stand up for election results, even if the results are close or not the ones they want?
How will the press respond to meritless attacks on elections and democratic institutions?
How much more stress can American democratic institutions take before they break?
Remember: Wait for confirmed results before shouting at the internet, double check rumors, and keep standing up for democratic institutions even if your preferred candidate loses.
Let us know what you think.
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