Don't believe democracy doom. Americans united in backing Constitutional values. | Opinion

As the November 2024 election draws near, we see and hear more and more news and social media warnings of dire consequences. The predicted outcomes vary depending upon the messenger’s political preferences. As a battleground state in this presidential election, Wisconsin is squarely in the center of this media cacophony. And without question, this will be an important election. Some of the conditions surrounding the presidential race are absolutely without precedent. But there are other elements that should also be considered.

For example, a March 2024 Secure Elections Project (SEP) targeted poll of Wisconsin Republicans and Conservative-leaning Independents found that 62 percent of these voters say they believe the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump. The results are similar to the most recent Marquette poll on the subject.

However, the SEP poll also found that most conservative Wisconsinites (63%) believe the state’s electoral process is working properly. Furthermore, 76% of the respondents agree with the statement “my vote counts,” suggesting that — while they may agree with broader national political narratives about the 2020 election — they are satisfied with how elections are administered locally.

Studies show Americans support democracy, reject violence

Contrary to the rhetoric from some pundits, Americans across the board place a high value on the nation’s democratic principles. A new study from the Polarization Research Lab, has found that despite a surge in anti-democratic behavior by U.S. politicians, the majority of Americans oppose anti-democratic attitudes and reject partisan violence.

Don't think fascism could happen here? You haven't tracked the school book bans.

The researchers surveyed more than 45,000 Democrats and Republicans on their attitudes toward four specific democratic norm violations. They found that more than 80% oppose censorship of partisan media, 83% oppose placing political party loyalty over the Constitution, 85% oppose the disregard of court decisions that favor the other political party, and 90% oppose efforts to reduce polling stations.

These results are reinforced by the April 2024 AP-NORC poll showing overwhelming support for the right to vote, the right to equal protection under the law, the right to privacy, freedom of religion, the right to assemble peacefully and freedom of the press. All are viewed as extremely important or very important to our identity as a nation. Though the noise and radical actions of some politicians may garner attention, it’s clear that they don’t reflect the beliefs of most Americans.

Samuel Issacharof, author of the book Democracy Unmoored, credits citizen loyalty to democratic norms for protecting against post-election chaos in battleground states in 2020. When election denialism was picking up steam, state and local election officials and the large numbers of poll workers kept the election process from falling off the rails. Despite the country’s deep political polarization, most Americans share many core beliefs about what it means to be an American.

Polarization is here, but so is trust and transparency

This is not to suggest that we should become complacent about the political divide. That would be a serious mistake. Much of what we see online is the work of a loud, small, partisan minority. Separate studies by the Pew Research Center, Reddit and the University of Utah reinforce this point. Yet this small group can distort the perception of the public, leading to the misconception that some beliefs are more common than they really are. We need to counter these messages with factual information.

There's a better way Milwaukee. Central count for absentee ballots problematic.

Keep Our Republic is a non-partisan civic education organization working to address threats to our election processes and to promote trust and transparency at every stage of the voting and electoral process. In 2024, their efforts will focus on Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin. They are holding public information sessions throughout Wisconsin, involving former elected officials, as well as state and local election officials…people who are knowledgeable about the state’s election process.

This kind of effort makes sense. In upholding our democratic republic, we should work from our strengths while not disregarding the threats. We must appeal to the majority and keep the focus on the shared values we embrace in the U.S. Constitution. Overwhelmingly, Americans support American values.

Lee Rasch is the executive director of LeaderEthics, a nonpartisan/nonprofit organization committed to promoting ethical leadership among elected officials. Lee can be reached at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Democrats and Republicans care about democracy and our Constitution