Democrats must commit to accepting results of election

Former President Donald Trump has a well-established history of not accepting election results that don’t go his way. But as the Supreme Court rules in favor of legal efforts by Republican governors to remove noncitizens from the voter rolls, the Democratic Party must step up and reassure voters, whom it has given plenty of reason for concern, about wanting election integrity and honoring the results.

Democratic officials doubtless want voters to forget, but they have a long and storied history of refusing to certify presidential election results. It is not a Republican practice. Democrats’ constant refrain is that America’s democracy depends on Trump not being reelected, but they must demonstrate that commitment to democracy by honoring the election result if he wins.

In October, three Democrats issued statements raising the possibility they would work to delegitimize Trump’s election. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) told reporters he would certify the election results only if the election was “free, fair, and honest” and that if Trump wins, he would “definitely” have doubts about the fairness of the process. 

Similarly, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) said he would certify the election “assuming everything goes the way we expect it to. … We have to see what happens.” Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) added that she would want to “make sure that all the rules have been followed” before she would commit to accepting the results.