After two years of false claims and conspiracy theories about how ballots are cast and counted, final voting is underway in a midterm election where voting itself has been in the spotlight.
where voting itself has been in the spotlight after two years of false claims and conspiracy theories about how ballots are cast and counted., former President Donald Trump and his allies have succeeded in sowing wide distrust about voting by promoting false claims of widespread fraud. The effort has eroded public confidence in elections and democracy, led to restrictions on mail voting and new ID requirements in some GOP-led states, and prompted death threats against election officials.
"This bipartisan, transparent process administered by election professionals across the country will be secure, it will be accurate, and it will have integrity," said Matt Masterson, a former top election security official in the Trump administration, at a briefing organized by The Aspen Institute. "The best response for all of us is to get out and participate in it.
Party affiliation seems to be an increasing factor in how and when people vote. Republican skepticism of mail voting has persisted amid the attacks by Trump and his allies. Some Republican activists and candidates have gone so far as to encourage voters who receive a mailed ballot to wait until the very last minute to turn it in, claiming it will somehow prevent Democrats from stealing the election.There is no evidence of widespread fraud or manipulation of voting machines in 2020.
But the false claims have spread widely among Republicans, fueled by conspiracy theorists on social media and at events held across the country. An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research survey from October found 45% of Republicans had little to no confidence that votes in the midterm elections will be counted accurately. And a majority of Republicans, 58%, still believe President Joe Biden was not legitimately elected — though it’s down slightly from 66% in July 2021.
Ahead of the election, Republican and conservative groups recruited people to serve as poll watchers and to get hired as local poll workers. Fueled by the lies about the 2020 election, some people even stationed themselves near ballot drop boxes in Arizona while toting guns, wearing body armor and concealing their faces with masks. Just last week, a judge ordered such groups to keep at least 250 feet away.
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