Today, the Trump Justice Department filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block Alaska Senate election results on the grounds they might be influenced by voter "confusion" between incumbent Republican Senator Dan S. Sullivan and a separate Republican candidate with a very similar name (Dan L. Sullivan).
uncertain
they → file → name
I previously wrote the issues raised by the two Dan Sullivans here.
asserted
I → write → Sullivans
As I pointed out in the earlier post, there is no legal basis for overturning congressional election results based on voter confusion, and any such action would likely violate the First Amendment.
asserted
action → point → Amendment
I would add that any such federal action also runs afoul of states' primary authority over election procedures.
asserted
action → add → procedures
The Elections Clause of the Constitution gives states primary authority over "The Times, Places and Manner of holding Elections for Senators and Representatives," subject to Congress' power to modify these rules by legislation.
asserted
Clause → give → legislation
Congress has not enacted any statute allowing overturning of election results based on possible "voter confusion."
asserted
Congress → enact → confusion
If "voter confusion" were a legitimate reason to overturn election results, that would imperil a great many election winners, as voter ignorance - and exploitation thereof by candidates - is a widespread and longstanding problem.
asserted
ignorance → overturn → candidates
I covered some of these points in my previous post about the two Dan Sullivans:
asserted
I → cover → Sullivans
Donald Trump is a particularly egregious example, going all the way back to his first campaign in 2016, and more recently with his lies about the 2020 election and other issues.
asserted
Trump → go → election
But more conventional politicians also often resort to lies and deception, even if not to the same degree.
asserted
politicians → resort → degree
President Obama, for example, famously lied when he claimed that, under the Affordable Care Act, "if you like your health care plan, you can keep it."
asserted
you → lie → it
That deception won the 2013 Politifact Lie of the Year award.
asserted
deception → win → award
But it still helped Obama get reelected in 2012.
asserted
Obama → help → 2012
I am not sure exploiting voter confusion about names is any worse than exploiting their ignorance about policy issues like crime, immigration, and health care….
asserted
exploiting → exploit → crime
Ultimately, both exploitation of voter confusion about names and other deceptions used in campaigns seek to exploit widespread voter ignorance.
asserted
exploitation → use → ignorance
Because of the combination of "rational ignorance" (lack of incentive to seek out political information) and "rational irrationality" (lack of incentive to engage in unbiased evaluation), most voters know little about government and public policy, and often do a poor job of evaluating the information they do know.
asserted
they → seek → information
This makes them vulnerable to deception and manipulation, and incentivizes politicians to lie and otherwise distort the truth.
asserted
them → make → truth
But I assess a range of possible options in my 2023 article on "Top-Down and Bottom-Up Solutions to the Problem of Political Ignorance, and in my earlier book Democracy and Political Ignorance.
asserted
I → assess → book
I believe the best approach is to make fewer decisions at the ballot box and more by "voting with your feet," where incentives to seek out information and evaluate it wisely are much better.
asserted
incentives → believe → it
But I recognize that any effective approach will take time, and there may be no one fix that is sufficient by itself.
uncertain
that → recognize → itself
We may need to pursue multiple strategies.
uncertain
We → need → strategies
In the meantime, voters are likely to continue to be ignorant and confused about a variety of issues, and politicians and interest groups are likely to keep on exploiting that.
asserted
politicians → continue → that
Many of these other voter ignorance problems are far worse than any potential confusion between candidates with similar names, a problem that only comes up relatively rarely.
asserted
that → come → names
The Aporia
