Explosive elections and voter violence
By: Sophia Rathleff
With the recent attack on the Pelosi family, many are considering it a grim foreshadowing of what is to come. Election season is an emotional and polarised time, especially in the US. With the rise of MAGA and the intensity of gun control debates, violence has been escalating around political events in the US. The media has reported the election season horror stories in 2016 and 2020, but the circumstances for the November 2022 midterms are looking much worse.
To recap: The midterm elections are a crucial part of the American political system, it elects both the house of representatives and the senate. The democratic party has held the majority for two years, but it looks as if they will lose the house to the republicans. Key voting topics this year are abortion, climate change and immigration. Alongside this, candidates are racing toward the presidential election in 2024, with what looks to be a return of Trump.
That is where the issue is starting to arise. The right-wing views of Trump have given American nationalists a platform and figure to rally behind. However, it defied the norms of political rallying, leading to the dramatic climax of January 6th 2021, which is defined as an insurrection. Distrust and anger have been pedalled along the political spectrum.
With paranoia and mistrust being sewn into the American psyche, there has been a surge in violence towards political actors, polling staff and even ordinary people. So much so that security organisations have warned of a raised threat level, and stated that “Attacks conducted by lone actors pose the most plausible threat to potential targets”. Going further to say that the attacks are fuelled by ideological reasons.
As stated previously we have already seen Paul Pelosi be seriously injured by an individual fuelled by conspiracies deriving from the right wing. Not to negate Mr Pelosi's injuries, but the more serious aspect pertaining to elections is that the assailant was seeking to kidnap and seriously maim Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. She has been a fervent supporter of democratic policies (such as free access to abortion and gun control) and was an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump.
Attacks like this are a damning destruction of US democracy that is rearing its head for the world this November. The world will have to watch to see how severe this violence will become, but the US should be and is bracing for what is to come. As one Trump supporter said to sky news "I think that's (civil war) the only thing that's going to bring America back together after this election if we lose." They are seemingly willing and ready to fight for their “freedoms and liberties”. But can they really be considered that, if nobody can decide what they are?
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