What Went Down At The California Recall Election: Live Results

Since I’ve long thought that John Adams’s retreat in 1800 is one of the greatest moments in U.S. history, the sore loser/voter fraud problem is one that seems likely to plague us for years to come. It’s really unclear how we can overcome it without significant work by Republicans. In 2004, there were numerous unfounded claims about Diebold machines, but John Kerry’s concession helped put the subject to rest among most voters. I’ve wondered whether constantly claiming that there is fraud makes it more likely to actually happen. Scott Walker made a lot of noise about the issue preceding the 2012 recall. The only criminal action was against one of his supporters, who voted five times.

That point is really important, Amelia. We shouldn’t forget that Elder’s embrace of voter fraud myths was a pretty calculated move to increase his support. He said Biden won “fairly and squarely” and then changed his tune when he got blowback from the base. From the outside, telling voters an election is rigged seems like it should dissuade them from voting. But from the inside of the GOP electorate, it can be an indicator that this is someone worth voting for.

This question is fascinating to me because it’s about people’s ability to believe two contradictory ideas at once — that the election is rigged and that their participation matters. Accepting that an election is rigged should, logically, prompt people to tune out. But, of course, logic is not what drives politics, and repeating outrageous (if untrue) claims about election fraud probably does a pretty good job of stoking people’s outrage and — ironically — keeping them engaged that way.