Every little bit of friction that’s added to the election process makes it that much harder for it to function. Which means these obscure election boards aren’t where denialism goes to die; it’s where it takes root and starts to grow. Just last month, North Carolina state election officials voted to remove two local election officials. The officials questioned state election practices and a 2018 federal court decision striking down strict voter ID requirements North Carolina had in place at the time. The incident is just the latest in a string of examples of the ways that election deniers’ conspiratorial distrust of elections continues to affect state and local elections.

---