never been calm in two years

• Lucas Waagmeester

  Correspondent in the United States

Will American democracy survive? Once again, that question haunts the minds of millions of Americans as they head to the polls next week. Will there be as fierce a battle over the results of these midterm elections as in 2020? And can this result become a prelude to serious problems in 2024, if a new president is to be elected?

A long list of Republican candidates has repeatedly repeated lies about voter fraud throughout this campaign. They run for governorships and other state positions, or for congressional seats in Washington. They’re not just gearing up for another results fight next week. If they come to power, they will also play a key role in determining the outcome of presidential elections two years from now.

The website 538 bring map where in the country these candidates are eligible. The result did not bode well. About 60% of American voters will see at least one next week Holocaust denier on the ballot; a candidate who has repeatedly denied the 2020 result.

In Arizona, home to a fierce battle for results in 2020, all the major Republican candidates are casting doubt on the election. They want to be governor, supreme prosecutor or Secretary of State; the highest official of a state. If elected, they will form the team that will be responsible for the smooth running of the 2024 election. Former President Trump supports their candidacy.

“fake news lie in the name of Joe Biden,” Kari Lake shouts from the stage at Dillon’s Western Trails Ranch, a restaurant a half-hour drive from Phoenix. Lake is a former host of local TV station Fox 10. Everyone in Arizona knew her when she ran for governor of the state last year and is now a rising star in the MAGA movement, the mainstay of the party. Republican who supports Trump.

“The truth is Joe Biden didn’t win the election,” Lake repeats wherever she campaigns, “and if you think he did, then you’re the conspiracy theorist.”

At the Maricopa County Elections Office, which includes Phoenix, they are struggling. The first ballots are already rolling in the voting computers, from the votes sent by mail or mobile drop box Were released. “I can’t believe we’re having this discussion again,” sighs Bill Gates, chairman of the electoral commission. “People are just listening to the misinformation that there’s some kind of conspiracy going on in this office.”

Behind tables in the election office, committees of Democrats and Republicans sit together to check ballots. Journalists watch behind glass. Rarely have elections been scrutinized as closely as in Maricopa County, Gates said.

Maricopa’s electoral office made headlines around the world in 2020 when it came under siege from Trump supporters in the weeks following the presidential election. “Far right, far right leaders were standing outside here yelling that we have to stop counting votes,” Gates said. Things have never really calmed down for two years, with Republican activist groups filing lawsuits and continuing to demand recounts.

Looking ahead to next week, additional fencing has been placed around the office. Large parts of it are still covered with opaque canvas. “They take pictures of our volunteers and photograph their license plates. It’s very intimidating,” Gates said. “Security to enter is also much stronger, we have to protect our people.”

“The past predicts the future, of course it could happen again,” said Rusty Bowers, a Republican Party veteran from Arizona. He chaired the faction in parliament here and was asked after the 2020 election by President Trump to help reverse the result in Arizona. Bowers refused and was later silenced by the party.

“For these people, harassment and deception are standard methods,” Bowers says in his yard outside of Phoenix. According to Bowers, a problem arises if the Republicans change the positions of governor, prosecutor and Secretary of State get all three next week. “It’s the worst case scenario.”

Then they can block the legitimate outcome of the 2024 presidential election. Bowers: “They’ve tried before, now they’ll do it again. It’s now their playbook if they lose. They even said it: if we lose this times, we’re going to fight. So when they all get together later.” deciding to do the wrong thing is a problem.”