How 2022 Was A Win For Democracy – By Kaleigh Rogers (FiveThirtyEight) / Dec 29, 2022
A few weeks before the midterms, I attended an election-denying group’s Zoom meeting. There had been alarming reports of a massive, well-funded campaign to place election deniers in voting centers that could cause havoc on Election Day. I wanted to know exactly what these groups were telling these volunteers, so I found one in Pennsylvania and quietly attended an open session. What I heard that night surprised me. The training session provided would-be poll watchers with accurate, useful information about the responsibilities and limits of their role. It was more bureaucratic than baleful. And the threat of an army of conspiracy-minded meddlers interfering in the voting process never materialized: There were few reports of disruptions on Election Day and no widespread internal efforts to hinder the voting or counting process.
So, was this a win for democracy? On the one hand, free and fair elections form the bedrock of most people’s idea of democracy, so it’s, y’know, cool that there was no sinister behavior from conspiracy-minded poll watchers. On the other hand, groups that, with the encouragement of former President Donald Trump, tried to overturn the last election were recruiting and training volunteers to oversee this one, which isn’t very reassuring. Elsewhere, there were threats that never materialized, extreme candidates winning primaries but then losing general elections, candidates refusing to concede — but fewer of them than expected.
This mixed bag makes it difficult to gauge where democracy stands as we bid adieu to 2022. In the great ledger of wins and losses, did democracy wind up in the black this year? I spoke to three experts who told me, basically, yes. There were enough positive signals this year of democracy’s endurance that we should all be reassured. But they also all noted that threats remain, and while we should collectively take the W for democracy, we shouldn’t let our guard down as we head into 2023.
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