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1 Fordham L. Voting Rts. & Democracy F. 1 (2022-2023)

handle is hein.journals/fdhmlwvt1 and id is 1 raw text is: FOREWORD I HOPE TILDEN WAS RIGHT Jerry H. Goldfeder* Even after an election in which voters rejected several high- profile election deniers,1 the state of our union remains fraught.2 Over two hundred of them were elected during the midterms,3 and the former president is running once again.4 As a result, the relief felt by many after the 2022 midterms has not eliminated a deep concern that the rule of law and the norms that sustain it are fragile, as well as a fear as to what would happen if the 2024 election is inconclusive;5 indeed, this includes a worry about political violence.6 Former President Donald Trump is not solely responsible for the current state of affairs, of course, but his persistent attempt to delegitimize the 2020 election certainly exacerbates an underlying contentiousness in the country. And despite a feeling that * Director of the Voting Rights and Democracy Project at Fordham University School of Law; Special Counsel at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP. 1 Election deniers is a characterization that does not capture the subversive nature of what is being espoused. Many of those who steadfastly claim that President Biden did not win the 2020 election also implicitly promise to reject results in future elections if not to their liking. A more direct nomenclature is required, such as seditionists. 2 Jerry H. Goldfeder, Reform Our Elections and Save the Republic, N.Y.L.J. (Oct. 31, 2019, 11:45 AM), https://www.law.com/newyorklawjournal/2019/10/31 /reform-our-elections-and-save-the-republic [https://penna.cc/7EGB-KL3E]. 3 Karen Yourish et al., See Which 2020 Election Deniers and Skeptics Won and Lost in the Midterm Elections, N.Y. TIMES (Nov. 10, 2022, 6:30 PM), https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/09/us/politics/election- misinformation-midterms-results.html [https://penna.cc/H6CV-ESAR]. 4 Gabby Orr et al., Former President Donald Trump Announces a White House Bidfor 2024, CNN (Nov. 16, 2022, 1:25 PM), https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/15 /politics/trump-2024-presidential-bid [https://perma.cc/3N9N-MCG8]. 5 Amy Gardner, A Majority of the GOP Nominees Deny or Question the 2020 Election Results, WASH. POST (Oct. 12, 2022, 9:21 AM), https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/10/06/elections-deniers-midterm- elections-2022 [https://penna.cc/U5DR-T87B]. 6 Jerry H. Goldfeder, Excessive Judicialization, Extralegal Interventions, and Violent Insurrection: A Snapshot of Our 59th Presidential Election, 90 FORDHAM L. REv. 335, 338 (2021) (Notwithstanding the former president's impeachment for inciting the insurrection and the ongoing prosecutions of participants in the January 6 attack, there is no reason to believe that the assault on the Capitol is not a prelude for what may occur in our sixtieth presidential election.). 1