The conspiracy theory that the 2020 election was stolen is now mainstream on the right. Believers are undeterred by the fact that the election was free and fair and the lack of evidence of fraud. Those who seek to correct the misinformation become targets of Donald Trump and his allies.
As Trump runs for re-election, he has laid the groundwork to make a bevy of stolen election claims after 5 November, many of which are retreads of those made in 2020 or other elections. They include the false claim that non-citizens are voting in broad numbers, attacks on the voting and counting process, misunderstandings of how elections work and opportunism when human errors occur.
If Trump wins, these lies could be used to target down-ballot races. If Trump loses, election lies could reach levels seen in 2020 – or beyond.
