Election Day is less than a week away, and the future of U.S. democracy is at stake. That sounds hyperbolic. It’s the kind of statement that major media organizations like The New York Times counterpose against actual Republican violence to show that both sides are responsible for partisan polarization. But with 291 election deniers on the ballot across 48 states, including as Republican nominees for top election administration roles, it’s just a fact.
Republicans are trying to mess up every step of how we do elections, from laws making it harder to vote to intimidation at ballot drop boxes to inaccurate, dragged out ballot counting—and the threat exists for much, much worse, as we saw on Jan. 6, 2021.
And once in office, they have big plans. Harsh abortion bans in states already fully controlled by Republicans aren’t enough. They want more, from bans in more states to a federal abortion ban.
