Bob Bauer

Lawfare: The Danger of the Moment

May 24, 2021

The Presidential Reform Project’s Bob Bauer contributed an article to Lawfare on the danger facing our electoral norms and institutions:

In the immediate future, these electoral institutions require a robust defense. In states like Texas and Florida, Republican as well as Democratic election officials have come out against provisions of voting laws that may serve partisan interests but disserve voters. This bipartisan opposition is an encouraging indication that basic norms of democratic life retain their vitality.

But more needs to be done to check the Trump-directed state legislative program to exert partisan control over election administration. The laws targeting election officials for illicit partisan political purposes, and any punitive actions taken against those officials, call for a vigorous response. Legal challenges can be expected. Organized public pressure on state legislatures will remain indispensable in bringing this attack on the electoral process to wide public attention and calling out those in the state legislatures who are responsible. What is needed is an integrated approach that taps the range of resources available in government, the courts and civil society.

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