Election Obstruction

Abstract

In 2020 and 2022, multiple Republican county canvassers refused to perform their ministerial duty
to approve election returns, obstructing the official certification of the results. The canvassers
latched onto false claims of fraud and other conspiracies advanced by election deniers. They
eventually relented because of court orders and public pressure. The elections produced official
winners, and crisis was averted. But, as long as election denialism rots our political discourse,
election obstruction by canvassers will be a persistent risk with significant dangers for our
democracy. This Essay provides a brief history of election obstruction by canvassers, examines
the modern link between election denialism and election obstruction, and proposes two solutions
to minimize the risk of election obstruction—diversifying canvassing institutions and bypassing
county canvassers for national and statewide races

Keywords: election institutions, election law, voting

JEL Classification: K16