Public Wise Launches Election Threat Index, Identifies 38 Election Deniers Serving in Public Office in Arizona

Arizona is the first phase of Election Threat Index, with plans to expand to Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Florida, Wisconsin, and Nevada in 2024

MEDIA CONTACT: Addie Bullock, abullock@bluestate.co

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Public Wise, a voting rights organization that works to secure a government that reflects the will and protects the rights of the people, launched today the Election Threat Index, an online, free public tool identifying election deniers serving across the state of Arizona and tracking how local and state officials are spreading election disinformation, participating in anti-democratic legislation, and instituting voter suppression policies at the state and local level. The Election Threat Index’s Arizona state page is the first phase of the tool, with state pages for Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Michigan, Georgia, Florida, Wisconsin and Nevada to launch in the spring of 2024. 

The Election Threat Index is designed to identify local and state level officials, examine how their actions in office impact democracy, and work with grassroots partners to hold these individuals accountable, combat their attempts at voter suppression and elect pro-democracy candidates. The Election Threat Index was built using a variety of data sources, including Ballotpedia, Voting Rights Lab and Legiscan. The tool is designed to be used by voters, grassroots groups, advocacy organizations and reporters to identify how local and state level elected and appointed officials contribute to election denialism, voter suppression and anti-democratic behavior. 

“Our democracy and our elections are the most vulnerable at the grassroots level, where races face less scrutiny and competition. After struggling at the national level, election deniers are taking the fight to our local communities,” said Christina Baal-Owens, executive director of Public Wise. “Our democracy doesn’t begin or end in Congress or in the White House; its fate will be determined in our communities, by our school boards, our state representatives, our sheriffs. The Election Threat Index is designed to identify these officials and understand the impact election deniers have on our right to vote and the future of our democracy. The next phase of the election denier movement is here and we’re fighting back to protect our democracy and our fundamental freedoms.” 

Election Threat Index Highlights: 

• 53.3% of Arizona’s constituents are represented by election deniers in the state legislature
• 48% have introduced anti-democratic legislation 
• 84% have voted in favor of anti-democratic legislation
• 21% of election deniers in AZ introduced legislation to limit voting access
• 18% of election deniers in AZ introduced legislation to change how votes are counted
• 26% of election deniers in AZ introduced legislation to change the control of election results 

Public Wise, the founder of The Insurrection Index, an online database identifying all individuals and organizations in a position of public trust who participated, planned or promoted January 6th, is launching The Election Threat Index to adapt to the new phase of the election denialism movement. January 6th was just one element of a decades-long effort to undermine our democracy and election denialism is now mainstream in the American political system. Election deniers are running for office at the local and state level, impacting voting suppression, election certification and vote counting. 

The Election Threat Index can be accessed here.

About Public Wise

Persistent and unyielding in our commitment to a just multiracial democracy, Public Wise fights to secure a government that reflects the will and protects the rights of the people. We accomplish this through education, research, organizing, funding, and partnerships that support more voting and more equitable representation.

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