2020 Elections Oral History Project | Peaceful Transition of Power

peaceful transition of power header graphic american flag with voter stickers over the top

PROJECT OVERVIEW PART I: HOW DID WE GET HERE PART II: No Plan for a Pandemic

PART III: The 2020 Election PART IV: Aftermath V: Peaceful Transition?

Peaceful transfers of power are one of the most enduring features of the United States’ political system. Since the eighteenth century, the country has successfully — and without bloodshed — passed the presidency from one administration to the next. The events of the 2020 election, culminating on January 6, have thrown this tradition into jeopardy. We asked election officials, those who stand as the guardians of our democracy, their thoughts. Did we have a peaceful transfer of power?

Some said we had a peaceful transition...

Frank LaRose, Ohio Secretary of State, speaking with Matt Masterson

Some were more ambivilent...

Katie Hobbs, Secretary of State, Arizona

Chris Krebs, former Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) Director

“It was tumultuous…everything from our recounts to how elections were certified...people did not agree.”

Meagan Wolfe, Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator

Many, however, offered a resounding no.

David H. Stafford, Escambia County Supervisor of Elections

Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State

Tina Barton, Senior Program Advisor at the US Election Assistance Commission

Jessica Huseman, Editorial Director of VoteBeat, lead reporter for ProPublica’s Electionland project

Matt Masterson, former Senior Cybersecurity Advisor at the Department of Homeland Security

As Masterson suggests, the consequences of the answer to this question are immense. They can be difficult, however, to address when the forces that contributed to the violence on January 6th are still at work.

“Election administrators stood guard against attempts to undermine the election….the terrible heartbreaking injustice is we should be incredibly proud of our democracy, and celebrating the heroes of the process.”

Jocelyn Benson, Michigan Secretary of State

We need to do more to protect and support the heroes of the process, our elections, and our democracy. We need to not only call out lies, but make real changes to the policies that govern our elections and impact the lives of those who run them. We have reached a tipping point. And we need to do something to change directions and save American democracy.

Acknowledgements:

We could not have completed this project without the help of several people that generously donated their time to us. We would first like to thank our interviewees, the lifeblood of this work: Kathy Boockvar, Al Schmidt, Tina Barton, Chris Krebs, Jessica Huseman, Joe Gloria, Katie Hobbs, Meagan Wolfe, Jocelyn Benson, David Stafford, Barbara Cegavske, Gabriel Sterling, Kimberly Wyman, Ben Hovland, and Frank LaRose. We would also like to thank those that kindly reviewed and provided feedback on our work: Pam Fessler, Carly Miller, Josh Goldstein, Jack Cable, Ashwin Ramaswami, Karen Nershi, Elena Cryst and Ryan Macias.