The National Task Force on Election Crises offers these frequently asked questions as a compilation of resources that may be helpful during the voting, counting, canvassing, and post-election periods.
Are our elections secure?
As you’ll see from the 2024 Election Roadmap, there are many components of the election, including voter databases, voting machines, setting up voting locations, verifying ballots, and counting the votes. All of these systems are run by people, and therefore subject to human error. However, there are safeguards in place so that these same people catch and correct any issues quickly.
When we are familiar with the facts, we are able to identify lies so we don’t accidentally amplify them. Below are some resources to help you do so.
What if something goes wrong?
While preparedness is important, we wouldn’t recommend spending too much time worrying about every conceivable crisis scenario. Periods of uncertainty are possible, but the National Task Force on Election Crises is here to guide you through them. It is our job to spot the developments that could escalate into a crisis, and — if that happens — we will equip you with the details you need, including what you can do and say in that specific situation.
In 2020, we were able to provide our Task Force Advocates with rapid response analysis and messaging every time an election development rose to a level to cause concern. We are prepared to do the same in 2024. To receive this guidance, which includes access to our Election Season Toolkit — what you need to know and how to explain it — join our Task Force Advocates mailing list.
How is the 2024 election different from 2020?
Beyond the political context, and the fact that we are no longer experiencing the uncertainty and risk of a global pandemic, the Electoral Count Reform Act of 2022 changes the post-election period in five important ways:
1. The ECRA requires states to follow the process for appointing electors that is in place on Election Day. In other words, the electors must be chosen by the popular vote in each state, eliminating the risk that a state legislature would send an alternate slate.
2. The ECRA identifies that governors (or another, specified official) are the default officials responsible for ascertainment – for identifying which electors will cast that state’s electoral college votes. Prior to the ECRA, it was theoretically possible for two state officials to claim that responsibility and file two separate certificates of ascertainment.
3. The ECRA sets clear statutory deadlines and creates a process for expedited judicial review of disputes about states’ ascertainment of their electors. This allows for a rapid judicial process to take place between December 11 and December 17 to ensure that the electors chosen by the voters are named in that certificate of ascertainment.
4. The ECRA clarifies that the vice president’s role at the joint session of Congress is ministerial – to count the votes, not to adjudicate which state’s votes should or should not be counted.
5. The ECRA makes it harder for members of Congress to lodge objections to a state’s votes. It now takes one-fifth of each chamber (prior, one Senator and one Representative sufficed), to object, and there are fewer allowable reasons to do so. What has not changed is that for that objection to be sustained – to actually cause votes not to be counted – it would have to be supported by a majority of each house.
With increasing attention on our elections, many Americans have come to understand that the United States has an election “season” rather than just an election day. To help us all navigate the (complex and often overlapping) processes, the Task Force has created the 2024 Election Roadmap. This interactive resource contains details about the different stages of the election process, potential disruptions, and ways that leaders can take action to support a free and fair election.
The mission of protecting free and fair elections transcends party and ideology.
Free and fair elections are the cornerstone of our democracy. The National Task Force on Election Crises is a cross-partisan collection of more than 50 experts dedicated to ensuring free and fair elections by recommending responses to a range of potential election crises. The only electoral outcome this group advocates is that elections are free and fair.
