The months between Election Day in 2020 and Inauguration Day in 2021 saw a disturbing mobilization of Republican lawmakers and media personalities—led by former President Donald Trump—to overturn now-President Joe Biden's victory.
The unprecedented effort saw chaotic press conferences, sham hearings, frivolous lawsuits, and a tidal wave of disinformation that culminated in a deadly siege of the United States Capitol by pro-Trump extremists.
Using this increased skepticism of the American electoral process, Republican legislatures across the country have introduced a slate of proposals designed to limit the access of historically Democratic voters—particularly Black voters—to the ballot box.
In a new op-ed, Washington Post columnist Max Boot outlines how voter suppression laws in Georgia, Florida, Arizona, Texas, and other states could be used to install a Trumpian President in 2024.
Boot notes the GOP has already proven its fealty to Trump and the conspiracies he endorses:
"In January, 139 House Republicans and eight Senate Republicans voted not to certify electoral college results in at least one state. Since then, the most prominent GOP opponent of the 'big lie,' Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), has been purged from the House leadership. Willingness to lie about election fraud has become a litmus test for Republicans, with the implicit threat of mob violence if they don't go along. Republicans are so scared of Trump and his fanatical followers that most of them just voted against a bipartisan investigation of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol."
And writes that a similar, successful effort could be launched if Republicans secure both the House and the Senate in 2022:
"Many congressional Republicans will refuse to certify a 2024 Democratic win in swing states. If Republicans control Congress, they could deny the Democrats an electoral college majority and throw the election to the House — where each state delegation, regardless of population, would cast one ballot. Given that Republicans already control a majority of state delegations, they could override the election outcome. If that happens, it would spell the end of American democracy."
He concludes by imploring Democrats to overcome the filibuster and pass landmark voting rights legislation like the For The People Act.
He is not alone in his concerns.
People are mounting pressure on Democrats—especially moderate Senators Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona—to support filibuster overhaul.
Boot's concerns came as more than 100 scholars of Democracy issued a statement of concern that warned the democratic process is at risk.
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