We are in the final days of a momentous presidential election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Do you know if your elected officials will accept the result?
WIRED reached out to all U.S. senators and members of Congress to ask if they would accept the election results as called by the Associated Press. Why AP? Because, in the absence of a national electoral authority, the calls made by AP (a non-profit cooperative) have long been accepted as authoritative. We wanted something politically neutral, especially because Some local and state officials have indicated that they will not be able to certify the results.
You can search your ZIP code or state in the search bar below to find your representative and senator in Congress, as well as their answer to our question about whether they will accept AP results. In some cases, your ZIP code may not match your current congressional district, as district boundaries may change over time.
We organized lawmakers’ responses into three categories: those who will accept the election results as reported by the AP, those who will not, and those who have not responded. This is a living document and we will continue to update it with responses from representatives as we receive them. When possible, we also include legislators’ full responses to add more context to their responses. For example, some lawmakers may say they will accept the results when states certify, but not based on the AP call.
A note is attached to the results of all legislators who signed the “Unity Commitment” in September, promising to certify the results after “all legal means” to challenge the result have been exhausted.” Additionally, the results indicate whether a legislator previously declared his commitment “to certify the election results” as part of a USA Today Poll held in mid-October.
It is the first presidential election since the January 6, 2021 insurrection, when Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and baselessly claimed the election had been stolen.
In the years since, election denial has gone from the purview of fringe conspirators to a staple of senior figures on the American right. Trump has already indicated plans to challenge this year’s election results, and hundreds of Republican candidates for office They have also been questioned. Senator JD Vance of Ohio, Republican vice presidential candidate, has said that he would not have certified the 2020 elections unless the states had sent alternative pro-Trump electors.
election officials cross country have delayed or refused certification of state and local election results. Conspiracy theories about the results of the 2024 election have already flooded the Internet, as election denial groups, the Trump campaign and people like billionaire and X owner Elon Musk have spread falsehoods about voter fraud.
Given the demonstrated willingness of Trump and his allies to try to seize power after losing an election, a declaration by elected officials that they will accept the election results as declared by a neutral arbitrator is critical information for voters preparing to cast your vote. their votes.
Dell Cameron, Vittoria Elliott, Leah Feiger, David Gilbert, Makena Kelly, and Dhruv Mehrotra contributed to this project.