Using CVRs to Assess the Election Denial Penalty

• In Event: Campaigns and Elections

Abstract

In 2022, election deniers---individuals who maintained that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen from Donald Trump---ran in unprecedented numbers around the country. Many of these candidates lost, and existing research indicates that there was an "election denial" electoral penalty. Little is know, however, about the Republicans who voted against election deniers. We use administrative data to assess this question, increasing our sample and eliminating pressures to maintain a consistent partisan identity that may arise in surveys. Specifically, we use the cast vote records (CVRs) from Colorado, where statewide Republican candidates did not deny the results of the 2020 presidential election. These CVRs, tied to precincts, allow us to identify the characteristics of precincts in which Republicans who supported the statewide Republican slate voted against election-denier Republican congressional candidates, or abstained from voting in congressional elections altogether. The project promises to give us better insight into where and for whom election denialism is a disqualifying stance for Republican voters.

Author

• Kevin Morris, Brennan Center