ICYMI: Watchdog Identifies Growing Threat To Democracy Among 200+ Local Election Officials

Last month, Informing Democracy released a report identifying election officials from six battleground states who exhibited anti-democratic tendencies or actions ahead of the 2022 elections, based on research into the personnel in charge of elections across Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. The group identified over 200 officials in its report, laying out how anti-democratic tendencies are rampant at the local level and warning that our democracy is still under threat from potential bad actors.

In total, Informing Democracy found 94 local officials responsible for administering elections and 110 state lawmakers who provoked concerns about harboring anti-democratic bias—from abusing their authority to sow doubt about results to attempting to reject ballots from the counting process.

Here’s what Americans all across the country are reading about these anti-democratic actors and election deniers who still could pose a threat to our elections:

• POLITICO Nightly: The Pessimist’s Case On The State Of American Democracy

  • “A new report shared first with Nightly from Informing Democracy — an under-the-radar research nonprofit of election experts, researchers, and lawyers — argues that while it was a normative good that those top-of-the-ticket candidates lost, people are missing the forest for a few particularly tall trees.

  • “Informing Democracy focused on six swing states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — and identified over 200 current officials “who provoke concern due to anti-democratic tendencies or actions.” That includes 110 state legislators, and 94 local officials with some role in the elections process, including those who oversee the all-important certification of the results.”

• Politics PA: Report Identifies 36 Local PA Officials As Possible Threats To Elections

  • “The report calls out not only elected public officials, but also the media narrative that centers on ‘terms like election denier and misinformation.” Informing Democracy says that the “true nature of the threat is officials with power over elections are acting on their anti-democratic beliefs to undermine the will of the voters.’

  • “Among its findings, the report identified 27 current Pennsylvania state legislators – nine state senators and 18 representatives – as election deniers, only three who faced a primary opponent in 2022. It also listed 36 local officials with election authority, including those in nine Pennsylvania counties – Berks, Columbia, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Lancaster, Luzerne, Lycoming and Westmoreland – who ‘promoted election conspiracies, or who otherwise undermined faith in the vote-counting process.’”

• Pennsylvania Capital-Star: New Report: 36 Officials In 22 Pa. Counties Could Pose Election Threat

  • “The Pennsylvania officials identified in the report include Allegheny County Councilor Sam DeMarco, whose name appeared on a fake slate of pro-Donald Trump electors; Berks County Commissioners Christian Leinbach and Michael Rivera, Bradford County Commissioner Doug McLinko, Fulton County Commissioner Stuart Ulsh, and others.

  • “‘This report shines a floodlight on the wave of state and local officials counting our ballots and writing our election laws who harbor anti-democratic tendencies— and it shows just how big a threat they pose to future elections,’ the group’s executive director, Jenna Lowenstein, said in a statement.”

• Detroit Metro Times: These 41 Officials In Michigan Labeled ‘ongoing Threats To Democracy’ By Watchdog Group

  • “More than 40 local and state officials in Michigan have been deemed “ongoing threats to democracy” by a nonpartisan watchdog group for their role in sowing disinformation about election fraud…The officials — most of them elected — were involved in anti-democratic activities such as seeking to restrict voting access, attending ‘Stop the Steal’ rallies at the U.S. Capitol and Michigan Capitol, promoting conspiracy theories about election fraud, calling to void votes from the city of Detroit, criticizing the state certification of election results, and calling on then-Vice President to not certify the presidential election.”

• The Livingston Post (MI): New Watchdog Group Includes Bezotte, Bollin Among Those It Deems 'Threats To Democracy'

• From Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s The Jolt: “The nonprofit research group Informing Democracy released a report this week identifying more than 200 state and local election officials in six states who “exhibited anti-democratic tendencies or actions” ahead of the 2022 vote. The list includes 19 officials in Georgia from 12 counties.”

• From WisPolitics: “In the Badger state, Informing Democracy found many officials who provoked concern due to anti-democratic tendencies or activities, including three local officials from three jurisdictions and 11 current state legislators, including 10 who ran unopposed in the primaries and one who ran unopposed in the general election.”

You can read the full report into who could threaten elections in 2023 and 2024 here.