The first presidential election since the Jan. 6 attack will test new guardrails from Congress

October 29, 2024 | Lisa Mascaro | Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — This presidential election, the first since the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, will be a stress test of the new systems and guardrails that Congress put in place to ensure America’s long tradition of the peaceful transfer of presidential power.

As Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris race toward the finish, pro-democracy advocates and elected officials are preparing for a volatile period in the aftermath of Election Day, as legal challenges are filed, bad actors spread misinformation and voters wait for Congress to affirm the results. …

“One of the unusual characteristics of this election is that so much of the potential danger and so many of the attacks on the election system are focused on the post-election period,”
-Wendy Weiser, VP for Democracy, Brennan Center for Justice.

“We are concerned about one thing and one thing only: Can Americans still have valid trust in elections and can we have consistently a peaceful transfer of power in all offices, including the presidency? January 6th in 2021 was really a wake-up call, I think, for all of us.” -Dick Gephardt

Dick Gephardt, the former House leader, serves on the executive board of the nonpartisan Keep our Republic, which has been working to provide civic education about the process in the presidential battleground states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.