Overview

In conducting our research into election officials and identifying who might impede the counting and certification of elections, we sought to establish a standard terminology, defined below, to label individuals or actions that represent a threat to the administration of free and fair democratic elections.

We are open to feedback or additional thoughts on these terms and their definitions, which you can send to: info [@] informingdemocracy.org

Key Terms

Anti-Democracy

This is a term used to classify indicators of willingness, sympathy, or inclination to undermine the legitimacy of elections. These types of actions include:

• Embracing, sharing, or platforming election or voting-related conspiracy theories or conspiracy theorists, whether directly or through sharing of disinformation in their personal capacity
• Affiliation with any organization whose focus is promoting an anti-democracy agenda

Election Subverter

Someone who has taken direct action to subvert the administration, counting, or reporting of a fair and free election. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Intimidating voters from casting ballots
• Inciting or participating in violence related to the administration of elections
• Threatening election officials and workers
• Tampering with sensitive voting data and equipment
• Refusing to concede electoral defeat without substantive grounds for doing so
• Working to rewrite election rules in a manner that undermines the will of the voter or basic democratic process
• Filing mass voter challenges
• Using courts to suppress votes
• Recruiting election deniers to serve as poll workers and watchers

As an election official, these types of actions also include but are not limited to: