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Two-thirds of Republicans believe the Democrats stole the US presidential election. Their anger erupts against officials.
To this day, Donald Trump claims without any factual basis that he lost his re-election a year ago simply because there was electoral fraud on a large scale. He never admitted his electoral defeat.
This lie about the stolen election victory has also become a doctrine in the Republican Party: Anyone who questions it publicly will be ostracized.
Legend:
A good two-thirds of Republicans are now convinced that Joe Biden is not their legitimately elected president.
Keystone
The messages that Claire Woodall has been hearing on her answering machine for a year are unmistakable: “You faked my elections, you bloody bastard! We will pursue you and hang you. “
The anger of these people over the supposedly stolen election victory has been discharged to this day, especially against officials who are responsible for holding elections. And that has dangerous consequences.
Systematic intimidation
Claire Woodall is the director of the electoral commission of Milwaukee, the largest city in the state of Wisconsin, where Donald Trump lost the election. Around 150 threats, by phone or email, arrived after the elections. In the summer, threatening letters followed by mail.
That also scared her: “I have two little boys – my husband and I no longer felt safe at home.” To be on the safe side, the family left the city for almost two weeks.
Legend:
For the first time in her life, Claire Woodall had an alarm system installed at home. Surveillance cameras and armored glass were installed in her office.
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She was also deeply shocked by the fact that so many people – even relatives – assumed that she was lying and cheating for party-political motives.
Every now and then she would like to quit. But in the end, this campaign against election officials is precisely about urging them to resign and replacing impartial officials with party soldiers.
Claire Woodall refuses to bow to the pressure and wants to stay for the time being. Richard Barron, electoral director for Fulton County, Georgia, is different. After 20 years as an electoral officer, he resigned at the end of the year.
Trump fuels agitation
He received the first death threats after a major Trump event in Georgia, shortly after election day. Trump projected Richard Barron’s picture and name on a big screen and accused him of fraud.
But he also blames the many Republican politicians who, against their better judgment, spread Trump’s lie about electoral fraud – just so as not to fall out of favor with the ex-president, or like Barron, for the fact that he was subsequently showered with threats and accusations says: out of cowardice.
Richard Barron and Claire Woodall are not isolated cases, says political science professor David Kimball, a specialist in conducting elections. That election officials everywhere in the country were threatened and urged to resign in such a systematic way had never happened before the last elections.
Pressure on election officials increases
In a poll a few months ago, a fifth of all election officials in the country reported threats and political pressure. And even if only some of them were to throw in the towel because of it, the consequences could already be dangerous, worries Kimball.
Vacancies would probably be filled with inexperienced people, or with those who are partisan and willing to manipulate election results.
A year ago, many election officials still resisted pressure from the Trump camp to change election results retrospectively. Political scientist Kimball fears that this could be very different in the next elections. Especially if a tight decision should be made again.