Both parties weakened trust in electoral system, both must restore it

This is a perilous moment of global instability. The very ideals of constitutional democracy that define America are at risk in every corner of the world. Amid such darkness, the United States is a beacon of hope for those who struggle under dictators and autocrats and yearn for peace, freedom, and self-determination. For democracy.

As Republican state election officials, we believe in the power of citizens to choose their leaders freely and fairly, and we have faith in the integrity of the election systems currently in place to carry out the voters’ will. Nationally, we saw a successful 2022 midterm election. Many states worked to shore up confidence in the election process, adding many new legal provisions that our states of Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, and Utah implemented beginning in 2020. These reforms included the preprocessing of absentee ballots, additional audits, and ballot tracking. The outcome was a high-turnout election, with not a single serious candidate contesting the election results. The system held up to scrutiny and won.

There are reasons why some still distrust the system. The main one is the toxic stew of disinformation, misinformation, and deliberate lies for profit or political advantage. And as conservatives, we recognize the damage caused by the drumbeat of falsehoods repeated about the 2020 elections. Despite the fact that the 2022 elections were largely undisputed and noncontroversial, there are still many voters who don’t believe they can have confidence in the 2024 elections.