For most of American history, anti-democratic forces focused on the "front end" of the election: rewriting rules, closing polls, and purging rolls to ensure that certain demographics could not cast a ballot. However, as local organizing and civil-rights litigation successfully overcame these barriers, hostile actors shifted to the "back end." This module covers election subversion—the modern, systemic trend of trying to overturn the actual results of an election after the voters have successfully navigated the friction. We look at the extreme fragility of America's hyper-localized election administration system and the new legislative threats aimed directly at the individuals tallying the vote.
In This Module
- Covers: The mechanics of election subversion, the harassment of local election officials, and legislative bills designed to seize control of county election boards.
- Why it matters: Winning the fight against gerrymandering and voter suppression is pointless if a partisan state board can legally refuse to certify the results from your local precinct.
- After this module, the reader can: Differentiate between voter suppression and election subversion, and audit their local election machinery to identify the exact individuals responsible for certification.
Reading List
Start Here
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The essential global framework. The authors prove that modern democracies rarely die via military coup; they die legally, at the hands of elected leaders who systematically subvert the very institutions that brought them to power. They focus heavily on the concept of "institutional forbearance" (the unwritten rule of not exploiting a legal loophole to destroy your opponent), showing what happens when a political party abandons it entirely.
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Hasen specifically addresses the terrifying fragility of the American electoral apparatus. Unlike other nations with highly centralized, uniform voting systems, the U.S. election is run by thousands of different, underfunded county managers acting semi-independently. Hasen dissects how this localized fragmentation is weaponized to manufacture systemic distrust in the outcome.
Going Deeper
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A quantitative look at the human cost of election subversion. This ongoing survey tracks the massive exodus of non-partisan local election officials driven out of office by death threats and legal intimidation post-2020. This data proves that the collapse of administrative infrastructure is not an accidental byproduct, but the goal of an intentional intimidation campaign.
For Legal and Policy Practitioners
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A critical tracker for state-level litigators. It categorizes the hundreds of actual bills introduced in state legislatures designed to subvert democracy—such as bills allowing partisan legislatures to unilaterally override local county election boards, or bills authorizing the criminal prosecution of election workers for routine administrative errors.
Core Concepts & Inquiries
What is the difference between voter suppression and election subversion?
Voter suppression targets the front end of the election by preventing certain demographics from casting ballots through poll closures, ID laws, and registration purges. Election subversion targets the back end by attempting to overturn actual election results after voters have successfully cast their ballots, through mechanisms like refusing to certify results or seizing control of local election boards.
What is institutional forbearance and why does its collapse matter?
Levitsky and Ziblatt define institutional forbearance as the unwritten norm of not exploiting a legal loophole to destroy your opponent. Modern democracies rarely die via military coup; they die legally, at the hands of elected leaders who systematically subvert the institutions that brought them to power by abandoning these unwritten restraints.
Why are local election officials leaving their positions?
The Brennan Center's ongoing survey documents a massive exodus of non-partisan local election officials driven out by death threats and legal intimidation following the 2020 election. This collapse of administrative infrastructure is not an accidental byproduct but the goal of an intentional intimidation campaign designed to replace experienced professionals with partisan loyalists.
How do state legislatures attempt to seize control of local election administration?
The States United Democracy Center tracks hundreds of bills introduced in state legislatures designed to allow partisan bodies to unilaterally override local county election boards, authorize criminal prosecution of election workers for routine administrative errors, and centralize certification authority in politically appointed state bodies.
Goal: Add an assessment of post-election vulnerability to your Jurisdiction Electoral Analysis.
Election subversion targets the specific people who sign the papers making the vote official. Find out who they are in your county.
- Name the Board: What is the exact name of the body that certifies election results in your county (e.g., "The County Board of Canvassers," "The County Election Commission")?
- Identify the Members: Are the members of this board appointed or elected? Currently, what is the partisan breakdown of this board?
- The Override Threat: Has your State Legislature recently passed or debated a bill that would grant the state the power to replace elements of your local county election board?
Document the names and structures of the individuals standing between your community's cast ballots and the finalized count. This determines exactly where the battle will be fought the day after the election.