PHOENIX — A suspicious envelope was found at a Kari Lake campaign office. Bullet holes were found in a Kamala Harris campaign office in Tempe. A school employee in Tempe was arrested for allegedly threatening Donald Trump Jr.
These are just three local examples of criminal actions due to increasing polarization between political parties in the United States. Nationally, in July, a man tried to assassinate former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. A Memphis man was indicted in August for threatening to assassinate Harris, President Joe Biden and former President Barack Obama.
On both sides of the aisle, disinformation is pulling Americans further apart. The aim of disinformation campaigns, U.S. officials wrote, is to increase division, cast doubt on election results and complicate the transfer of presidential power.
The campaigns also increase the threat of violence. FBI-reported hate crimes are at the highest it's been since perceived Muslims were increasingly attacked after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in New York City.
"Ideas that were once confined to fringe groups now appear in the mainstream media," Rachel Kleinfeld with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace reports. "White supremacist ideas, militia fashion, and conspiracy theories spread via gaming websites, YouTube channels, and blogs, while a slippery language of memes, slang, and jokes blurs the line between posturing and provoking violence, normalizing radical ideologies and activities."
91 percent of Arizonans concerned about divisiveness in politics
A poll conducted by NORC at the University of Chicago and the nonprofit group Starts With Us shows that while Americans agree on most core principles of American democracy, they refuse to recognize that the other side also holds those values.
“This is a hidden opportunity for Americans to reestablish a sense of shared values,” Tom Fishman, chief executive at Starts With Us, a nonpartisan organization that works to bridge political polarization, told the Associated Press. "Americans from both parties need to understand that they still share common values, he said, and to recognize their misconceptions about the opposing party.
The same is true for Arizonans.
The Center for the Future of Arizona (CFA) recently announced the results of its most recent Arizona Voters' Agenda survey.
"We aren't as polarized and divided as we hear so much about," said CFA’s Chair, President and CEO Sybil Francis. "... I see myself as, in part, in the business of creating hope."
The group said its goal is to center voters in the conversation. They hope that elected officials will see where they can win on issues that resonate with wide swaths of voters.
Some key takeaways from the survey:
- 91% of Arizona voters are concerned about divisiveness and partisanship in politics
- 80% of Arizonans view rent and home prices in Arizona as too high
- 67% of voters don't believe Arizona's current water policies are long-term sustainable
- 66% of voters disapprove of recent cuts to the state’s need-based financial aid program
- 77% of voters support comprehensive immigration reform with a pathway to citizenship
- 81% of Arizonans believe that their vote can make a difference
The Associated Press reports that voting advocacy organizations and civil rights groups are using public outreach initiatives to increase resilience to disinformation and to remind voters that Americans agree on more than the current political climate suggests.
Foreign countries fueling election disinformation
Officials with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have said a lot of the disinformation that pulls Americans apart are coordinated campaigns by foreign countries trying to sow discord in U.S. elections.
RELATED: Russia behind recent baseless accusations against Tim Walz, Kamala Harris as election nears
Russia and Iran may try to encourage violent protests in the U.S. after next month's election, senior intelligence officials warned Tuesday, citing two recent examples of foreign intelligence agencies seeking to sow discord ahead of the vote, according to the Associated Press.
The officials, with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said both countries could support violent protests either by covertly organizing events themselves or by encouraging participation in those planned by domestic groups. The aim, the officials said, would be to increase division, cast doubt on election results and complicate the transfer of presidential power.
"The period between Election Day and the new president's inauguration poses special risks as foreign adversaries and domestic extremists could seek to disrupt election certification by exploiting misleading claims or innocent irregularities," the Associated Press reports. "Safety concerns have already prompted election workers in some communities to install bulletproof glass and panic buttons because of the risk of election-related incidents."
The Associated Press reports Russia, China and Iran have all rejected claims that they seek to meddle with the U.S. election. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for Iran's U.N. mission pointed to past statements denying an intention to interfere in American politics. A spokesperson for China's Embassy in Washington told The Associated Press that U.S. officials' claims about Chinese disinformation are “full of malicious speculations against China.”
Decision 2024
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