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Could a candidate overturn the election?

Nicole Fallert   Paste BN

At a recent election event in Michigan, Paste BN reporter Erin Mansfield decided to start asking officials a simple question: "If they were asked to overturn an election, would they?"

Overwhelmingly, the officials told Mansfield "no."

This question might make you uncomfortable, even anxious. But it's valid, Mansfield says. After the events of the 2020 election, when former President Donald Trump called up Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to ask him to "find" him votes, many Americans are wondering what the aftermath of the 2024 election will look like. Could a candidate try this again?

Trump, Harris or any other candidate would be unlikely to find officials willing to try to block their state's electoral votes this fall, Mansfield's reporting found. Her story is part of an exclusive series by Paste BN journalists about election interference − how it could happen in 2024 and who's working to stop it.

Hello, reader! 👋 Nicole Fallert here and welcome to Your Week, our newsletter exclusively for Paste BN subscribers (that's you!). We're diving into the topic of election interference from all sides.

But first, checkout some of my favorite headlines I've read this week from Paste BN:

'Bring light, not oxygen'

After speaking with those officials in Michigan, Erin Mansfield wondered whether the same was true elsewhere. She called a bipartisan rolodex of governors, secretaries of state and nonpartisan election administrators across the country, especially in swing states. Her story found solidarity among these officials. They gave no indication that they would overturn the election. Several explicitly said they won't do so.

"These officials are battle-tested," Mansfield said. "It's almost a silly question to ask them."

But pressuring officials is just one of multiple ways Paste BN found the 2024 election could be influenced in coming weeks. Poll workers could be intimidated. Lawsuits could abound. Lone actors could be violent.

Paste BN Reporter Sarah Wire scanned far-right online forums and was surprised to find Americans publicly making threats if their preferred candidate lost.

"People are just talking about it openly," Wire said. Experts told her that America can expect some degree of discord, even violence, around Election Day, but it likely won't look like a centralized event in the way Jan. 6, 2021, occurred as a mob stormed the U.S. Capitol. Rather, it could mean small clusters of violence disturbing operations.

"Every indication seems to be everything will be thrown at the wall come election," Wire said. "From legal challenges to pressure on poll workers, we're expecting a decentralized effort."

Ready to vote? Get prepped with Paste BN's guide to the 2024 election

Importantly, Wire said Paste BN's election interference series is not intended to stoke fear among readers, but rather explain where these tensions originate and answer questions about them. Understanding how the system works will give readers comfort and a sense of trust, she said.

"We tried to look at all the different ways an election could be challenged so if there's something you're worried about, we have an answer for you," Wire said.

Mansfield said it's important to remember the electoral system depends on real people across multiple structures of government. The system was designed by America's founders to require multiple people on multiple levels of power to sign off on results to prevent an easy claim of victory by a candidate.

"It can be kind of scary to say people are in charge of this," she said, "But it's actually a good thing because there's so many checks and balances. ... It's really fascinating our forefathers thought of this."

'They are your neighbors'

One of those checks and balances Paste BN is highlighting is election workers. These are the people who run your local polling center and are responsible with the daily operations of the election. They greet you with a smile as wait in line. They answer your questions. They tell you where to park. They look out for any threats. They handle bad actors.

The more poll workers are humanized, the easier they are to trust, Wire said. Poll workers dedicate hours to training, preparation and execution all for a small paycheck while often acting as a citizen voice for policy change when voting issues arise (follow Sarah Wire for an upcoming project she's writing with reporters across the Paste BN Network that follows the life of election workers for a day).

"They are your neighbors," Wire said. "They are policy nerds and Type-A personalities who are not political in nature. They just really want to see this work."

A population of bad actors won't determine the outcome if good people are running votes across the country, Mansfield said.

"It's not the same situation as 2020 because states and the federal governments have passed laws to make it harder to interfere in an election," Mansfield said. "We can't predict the future, but we have a good idea of what we need to watch for."

Wire has a sign next to the computer she writes that reads: "Bring light, not oxygen."

Rather than inflating concerns about election interference, she hops Paste BN's series sheds a light on the important structures functioning correctly. This journalism can help us come together, she said: "People don't need to be afraid of their neighbors."

Read Paste BN's election interference series:

Thank you

Remember a few weeks ago when Your Week featured Paste BN's exclusive reporting on a rape kit backlog in the U.S.? Paste BN's journalism resulted in lawmakers calling for change. Read about the impact of the series here. Thank you for supporting our journalism with your subscription. Our work wouldn't be possible without you. 

Best wishes, 

Nicole Fallert

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