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The best defense from rumors, hoaxes and propaganda is knowing what to expect ahead of Election Day. News that three trays of mail had been discovered in a ditch in Greenville, Wisconsin, recently spread on social media and evolved into a national talking point for conservative outlets such as Breitbart. President Donald Trump’s administration used the story in its ongoing campaign to sow distrust in voting by mail. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany cited it as evidence of “a system that’s subject to fraud,” and Trump claimed that mail ballots were being “dumped in rivers” and “creeks” during...

We have a president who has openly said he might not respect the outcome of our election. We have to be ready if he claims victory before votes are counted, tries to stop counting, or refuses to accept a loss. Some days I feel confident it will happen. A poll showed over 75% of Democrats think this is possible— and a shocking 30% of Republicans do too. Other days I feel confident this is tough talk from a president not good at planning ahead. Still, he is good at the kind of misdirection that can keep us complacent and...

By Amy Dacey, Executive Director of the Sine Institute of Policy and Politics, American University With the U.S. presidential election rapidly approaching at a time of extraordinary political and social disruption, the possibility of an unclear or contested result is coming under scrutiny. Unlike many other countries, where the president or prime minister is chosen by direct popular vote, in the U.S., a candidate may win the popular vote and still not be elected to the nation’s highest office. The U.S. also differs from most other democracies in that it has no independent electoral commission to certify the final...

The men arrested in connection with a kidnapping plot against Michigan’s governor were connected with a movement of anti-government extremists that is active in Wisconsin. Experts who track extremists say the loosely organized groups can serve as a gateway to radicalization — and in extreme cases, that can lead to planned acts of domestic terrorism such as those described in the Michigan plot. Some of these groups deny being anti-government extremists. On the Three Percenters website, the organization states: “We are NOT a militia.” But a consistent thread among such groups is the idea that people should be prepared...