“It does... reinforce the fact, as we have started
to see over the internet, conspiracy theories pop
up, that whether domestic or foreign efforts to
undermine confidence in our elections, that
those threats are out there,” Warner said to
reporters Tuesday.
In November, for example, social media posters
exaggerated small-scale voting problems in
Kentucky to suggest the results of the governor’s
race were spoiled by dead people voting or
misprinted ballots. The now-former Republican
Gov. Matt Bevin requested a recanvass of
the results because of what he said were
“irregularities” after the initial vote tally put his
reelection bid behind by 5,000 votes — but he
refused to provide evidence of those problems.
Bevin, a Republican, later conceded to now-Gov.
Andy Beshear, a Democrat.
These type of cases show it’s important for the
presidential candidates to foster trust in the
system among their supporters, said Charles
Stewart III, a political science professor at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
“I really wish and hope that the candidates will
recognize that if they don’t defend the system
when it can be defended that they are doing
harm to democracy and doing harm to devalue
the nomination they’re seeking,” Stewart said.