Project Announcement: National Task Force on Election Crises Releases New Report
Based on the 2022 Midterm Election, Task Force Experts Advise an Array of Reforms and Preventive Measures Aimed at Preparing for and Overcoming Potential Election Crises
The National Task Force on Election Crises, a cross-ideological group of over 50 experts convened by Protect Democracy in 2019, unveiled their most recent report: Lessons from the 2022 General Election: How to Prevent Election Crises, and Emerging Issues for 2023, 2024, and Beyond.
In the report, they discovered that while greater communication, transparency, coordination, and efforts to combat mis- and dis-information generally resulted in a successful 2022 election, threats of election crisis still remain and are of serious concern as the 2024 election approaches. In an effort to prevent a range of election crises in 2024, the Task Force provides key consensus recommendations focused on improvements and solutions to build resilience in our election systems, from election administration and legal reforms to actions by social media platforms and civil society.
|
|
|
While many officials shared a sigh of relief after what could have been a potentially devastating election cycle in 2022, remaining vigilant will be key to preserving the safety and security of our elections. Not all the threats were remedied and nor legal problems solved by the Electoral Count Act reform in Congress.
|
|
Based on expert analysis, the Task Force identifies and warns of several categories of challenges and potential crises that must be closely monitored in 2023 and 2024 such as:
- Efforts by elected officials to attempt to manipulate the outcome of the 2024 presidential election in battleground states;
- “Constitutional sheriffs” and their growing focus on election issues;
- The need for states to update their election codes as a result of the Electoral Count Reform and Presidential Transition Improvement Act, which updated rules for presidential elections and cut off certain paths for election subversion;
- Ongoing election security risks from foreign governments via cyber attacks, deliberate disinformation or other disruptions;
- And a heightened climate of political violence which increases the risk of multiple forms of crisis, and increases the urgency for violent actors to be held responsible.
|
|
Additionally, the Task Force provides a series of recommendations to these outstanding threats across four categories:
- Legal reforms across federal, state, and local levels
- Election administration and security precautions
- Social media platforms and news media monitoring and flagging of disinformation
- Civil society engagement to prevent future threats
This report focuses on the resilience of our democratic processes that were tested in the previous presidential election. However, the information shared in detail highlights that we as a country cannot be complacent as threats to free and fair elections persist.
|
|
Join us in reading and sharing this important report.
Thank you,
Alexandra Chandler
Policy Advocate, Protect Democracy
|
|
|
|
|
