Last year, on January 6, we all watched with horror as the President encouraged a physical attack on our democracy. This year, we have to shift our attention from the U.S. Capitol to state capitols across the country.
The onslaught on our democracy didn’t start last January 6 in the Capitol – and it certainly didn’t end there. Catalyzed by the Big Lie, the radical right has used their governing power in the states to enact anti-voter laws, give themselves unchecked control over elections, and gerrymander election maps to cling to power – so they can undermine the will of voters.
As Daniel Squadron, The States Project Co-Founder and Executive Director, told NBC this week, “Every state legislature in a swing state in America has a Trumpist majority today. So if that doesn’t change in 2022, those Trumpist majorities will hold the democracy in their hands, whatever happens with federal and state law.”
Their plan is straightforward: leverage rightwing power in state legislative majorities, backed by a radical Supreme Court, to select the next president of the United States, no matter who voters elect.
And here’s the simple fact: the 2022 election in state legislatures could have as much impact on who takes the presidency as the election in 2024.
The good news? We’ve been doing this work, focusing where it matters, together.
This is our time.
Sitting on the sidelines is simply not an option, and we need you in this fight.
