While Election interference has long been a concern for democracy, the issue became particularly salient in the US following the 2016 presidential campaign, when Russian state agents were accused of cyberattacks and information warfare meant to sow division and support favored candidates. This election season, the issue has centered around how to counter foreign interference and whether disinformation campaigns should be limited by law.
The first electoral interference controversy in the United States took place during revolutionary France’s war with Britain, a conflict that divided Americans into factions sympathetic to or opposed to foreign intervention. Those who supported intervention (Federalists) formed alliances with Britain to strengthen diplomacy and trade, while those who opposed it (Anti-Federists) sought to avoid war by strengthening ties with France and strengthening diplomatic neutrality. The election in question was the 1796 ratification of the Jay Treaty, a controversial peace agreement that would have given the French control of the Louisiana Purchase and other lands, but ultimately failed because Anti-Federists blocked it in the Senate.
Despite concerns about electronic election interference, this year’s elections went off smoothly for most voters and the nation’s more than 82 million registered voters turned out in large numbers. However, election-related problems did arise during the early voting period and the day of balloting.
Research has shown that people who believe that an election is fair are more likely to vote, and that perceptions of electoral improprieties can discourage citizen participation in democratic activities such as peaceful political protests or strikes (Edelson et al. 2019; Norris, Garnett and Gromping 2021). This is especially true of citizens who are highly polarized in their political views and more inclined to perceive electoral fraud as an in-group affront (Birch 2010; Sinclair, Smith and Tucker 2018).