As you cast your ballot for your chosen candidates today, vote as if democracy depended on the outcome. Vote against those who threaten and undermine it by propagating the lie that Donald Trump had the 2020 presidential election stolen from him. Sadly, many Americans, including many candidates on today’s ballot, bought into The Big Lie. It now threatens to unravel our democracy.
A disturbing New York Times poll revealed that more than one-third of U.S. voters are open to supporting candidates who deny that Joe Biden is the legitimate president of the United States. This includes 36% of Republicans and 15% of independents who said they would be “very comfortable” voting for election deniers if they aligned with their preferences on other issues. Just 4% of Democrats polled said they would do so.
The poll results are alarming, not least because the thought that Americans would refuse to accept the results of a U.S. presidential election was once unthinkable. But that was before Trump disgracefully poisoned our politics by refusing to accept his loss in 2020 and enlisting the help of his supporters, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, to overturn the result. Trump spread The Big Lie that he had been robbed, leading to a violent but unsuccessful attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 to overthrow the results. Today, we the voters, no matter our ideologies, have the opportunity to prevent more attacks on democracy by refusing to vote for candidates who engage in, or otherwise rationalize or normalize, such behavior.
“It’s within our power, each and every one of us, to preserve our democracy, and I believe we will,” Biden said in an address to the nation last Wednesday night. “You have the power, it’s your choice, it’s your decision. The fate of the nation, the fate of the soul of America lies where it always does, with the people, in your hands, in your heart, in your ballot.”
Dire warnings about the decline of American democracy are not mere hyperbole. A decade ago, the United States received a score of 94 out of 100 in Freedom in the World, Freedom House’s respected annual report on political rights and civil liberties around the globe. That score put the U.S. in the company of other established democracies, such as France and Germany. Today, France and Germany still rank at 90 or above, while the United States has fallen to a score of 83, on par with newer, shakier democracies like Romania, Croatia, and Panama.
According to an analysis by the Washington Post, election deniers are on the ballot in 48 of 50 states and make up more than half of all Republicans running for congressional and state offices in the midterm elections. The FiveThirtyEight website found that Texas has more election deniers on the ballot than any other state.
Meanwhile, attempts to destabilize elections occur with alarming frequency. These include tampering with election equipment, threatening and harassing election officials, and refusing to certify election results. Such threats to the integrity of our elections are likely to increase if they are not called out.
On Oct. 23, our editorial board recommended candidates in 35 political races, including 16 contests for Congress and the Texas Legislature. None of the candidates we recommended deny that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election or propagate the lie that U.S. elections are rife with fraud. We urge you to consider these recommendations and to vote for candidates who support one of the cherished hallmarks of democracy — free and honest elections.
Many of the candidates we recommended in races for Congress and the Texas Legislature told us they would work to expand voting access so that all eligible voters can participate in democracy, another important reason to support them. Attempts to restrict voting access, as we’ve seen in Texas, can hurt all Americans when some lose faith in the voting process and question whether their voices and their votes matter.
Today, vote for candidates who stand for truth, not lies, and who believe in democracy. Reject those who peddle lies and conspiracy theories.
Our president was right. The power to protect our democracy lies with us.
Austin American Statesman
