美国国家公共电台 NPR--Election deniers are running to control voting. Here's how they've fared so far

Election deniers are running to control voting. Here's how they've fared so far

Transcript¹

Election officials and democracy experts are sounding the alarm, as Republicans who deny the 2020 election results have now moved closer to overseeing the voting process in almost a dozen different states.

The high-profile swing state Arizona joined the ranks in early August, when GOP voters there decided³ to nominate state Rep. Mark Finchem, an election conspiracy⁴ theorist, as their candidate for secretary of state.

"These are the people who set the rules, who count the votes, and ultimately who are responsible for defending the will of the people," said Joanna Lydgate, the CEO of States United Action, a nonpartisan organization that has been tracking election-denying candidates running for governor, attorney general and secretary of state nationwide. States United shared its most recent findings exclusively with NPR ahead of their release.

"In 2020, when we had a sitting president try to overturn an election, we saw all across the country state and local officials who stood up and who protected our freedom to vote," Lydgate said. "So if we want to see that happen again in the future we have to make sure that we are putting people in these positions who believe in free and fair elections."

The duties of a state secretary of state vary, but in most cases, they are the state's top voting official and have a key role in carrying out election laws.

Across the country, numerous Republican candidates for these positions — and others with some role in election administration, like governor and attorney general — have embraced the lie that widespread fraud affected⁵ the 2020 election results.

Of the 16 Republican secretary of state primaries held prior to August this year, 12 featured at least one candidate who questioned the legitimacy⁶ of Joe Biden's win in 2020, according to States United.

And four of those candidates won spots in November's general election: in Alabama, Indiana, Nevada and New Mexico. A fifth candidate, Kristina Karamo in Michigan, won a party vote to become the Republican nominee⁷ there during an endorsement⁸ convention in April.

Since the beginning of August, another five election deniers have won secretary of state primaries, including Finchem in Arizona, who beat out three other candidates, including another election denier.

Should any of those candidates win in November and be elected a state election head, that could present two fundamental issues, says Rick Hasen, director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project at UCLA.

"One: Are they going to administer elections fairly? And two: Even if they do, are others going to believe that they administer elections fairly?" said Hasen, speaking with NPR's 1A. "It really can lead to a massive decline in both experience on the ground and confidence that our elections are going to be fairly conducted."

Many election deniers have used the false narrative⁹ that the 2020 election was stolen as justification¹⁰ to strip back voting access measures like ballot¹¹ drop boxes and other forms of early voting, as well as election security tools like the Electronic Registration¹² Information Center or ERIC.

Finchem, for instance, says he wants to get rid of early voting and pull Arizona out of ERIC, despite bipartisan agreement that the system is among the best tools states have to detect and prevent voter fraud.

Tammy Patrick, a former election official in Arizona and now a senior adviser¹³ at Democracy Fund, called the trend "deeply troubling."

"We can debate policy issues, like what's the right timeline for voter registration or proper security protocols," Patrick said. "But I never thought we would be talking about individuals governing our election system ... who felt that they should put their fingers on the scale."

Patrick said she speaks to election officials in other countries who look to the U.S. for leadership, and she doesn't know what to tell them. "They say to me things like, 'We turn to you to set the standard ... and if you're struggling after having been a democracy for hundreds of years, what hope do we have?' "

An epicenter of election lies

Arizona's secretary of state race was widely watched, as the state has become an epicenter of the election denial movement since 2020.

Two of the four Republican candidates running to oversee² voting there made a name for themselves by embracing election conspiracies¹⁴.

Finchem introduced a resolution to decertify 2020 election results in the state. And Shawnna Bolick, another GOP state representative, proposed a bill last year that would have allowed the legislature to override¹⁵ the will of the voters in choosing presidential electors (a tactic¹⁶ embraced by Donald Trump¹⁷'s team following the 2020 election).

Finchem — a longtime member of the Oath Keepers, a far-right extremist group — was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and in an interview with NPR earlier this year he declined to call what happened there a riot or an insurrection.

"What happens when the People feel they have been ignored, and Congress refuses to acknowledge rampant¹⁸ fraud. #stopthesteal," he tweeted that day, with a photo of people waving Trump flags on the Capitol steps.

Trump endorsed¹⁹ Finchem in the race last September.

Two Republicans who are not election deniers also ran for secretary of state in Arizona: Michelle Ugenti-Rita and Beau Lane.

Where Republican voters stand

Even though polling data indicates a majority of Republican voters still believe fraud impacted the 2020 election, primary results this year suggest a more complicated picture, as a number of prominent election deniers have lost races running against more moderate candidates who did not spread misinformation about the 2020 results.

Overall, in contests held before August, States United found that election deniers have actually lost more GOP primary contests than they've won in races for governor, attorney general and secretary of state.

That includes in Georgia, which saw Trump-endorsed Rep. Jody Hice lose in the Republican primary for secretary of state to incumbent²⁰ Brad Raffensperger, who has spent the past two years arguing that the 2020 election was free and fair.

Also notable was Colorado, where election denial hero and Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who is facing charges for allegedly tampering²¹ with election equipment, lost in her bid for the Republican nomination²² for secretary of state.

Peters finished second, and the winner, former Jefferson County Clerk Pam Anderson, told Colorado Public Radio that it was a sign that voters want professionals elected to these sorts of offices.

"We want free, accessible and fair elections, and will push back on political hyper-partisan rhetoric²³ around elections administration," Anderson said.

Lydgate, of States United, however cautioned against focusing too much on where election deniers have lost. She pointed²⁴ back to Georgia in 2020, when Trump called Raffensperger after the election and pushed him to "find" votes, and said even one election denier in a position of power is too many.

"If somebody else had been in that position and had been willing to go along with that, we might have seen a different outcome," she said. "The truth is that a single election denier in a single state could throw our elections into chaos²⁵, could put our democracy at risk."

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 oversee   

vt.监督，管理

参考例句：

• Soldiers oversee the food handouts.士兵们看管着救济食品。
• Use a surveyor or architect to oversee and inspect the different stages of the work.请一位房产检视员或建筑师来监督并检查不同阶段的工作。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

5 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

6 legitimacy   

n.合法，正当

参考例句：

• The newspaper was directly challenging the government's legitimacy.报纸直接质疑政府的合法性。
• Managing from the top down,we operate with full legitimacy.我们进行由上而下的管理有充分的合法性。

7 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

8 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

9 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

10 justification   

n.正当的理由；辩解的理由

参考例句：

• There's no justification for dividing the company into smaller units. 没有理由把公司划分成小单位。
• In the young there is a justification for this feeling. 在年轻人中有这种感觉是有理由的。

11 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

12 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

13 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

14 conspiracies   

n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was still alive and hatching his conspiracies. 他还活着，策划着阴谋诡计。 来自辞典例句
• It appeared that they had engaged in fresh conspiracies from the very moment of their release. 看上去他们刚给释放，立刻开始新一轮的阴谋活动。 来自英汉文学

15 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

16 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

17 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

18 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

19 endorsed   

vt.& vi.endorse的过去式或过去分词形式v.赞同( endorse的过去式和过去分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• The committee endorsed an initiative by the chairman to enter discussion about a possible merger. 委员会通过了主席提出的新方案，开始就可能进行的并购进行讨论。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The government has broadly endorsed a research paper proposing new educational targets for 14-year-olds. 政府基本上支持建议对14 岁少年实行新教育目标的研究报告。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

21 tampering   

v.窜改( tamper的现在分词 )；篡改；（用不正当手段）影响；瞎摆弄

参考例句：

• Two policemen were accused of tampering with the evidence. 有两名警察被控篡改证据。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• As Harry London had forecast, Brookside's D-day caught many meter-tampering offenders. 正如哈里·伦敦预见到的那样，布鲁克赛德的D日行动抓住了不少非法改装仪表的人。 来自辞典例句

22 nomination   

n.提名，任命，提名权

参考例句：

• John is favourite to get the nomination for club president.约翰最有希望被提名为俱乐部主席。
• Few people pronounced for his nomination.很少人表示赞成他的提名。

23 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

24 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

25 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。