Practical Steps To Build Strong Political Norms and Stop Political Violence

Over the past decade, American democracy has witnessed a pronounced breakdown in foundational political norms, posing deep challenges to the rule of law and free and fair elections and eroding trust in government. The spread of dangerous extremism has been accompanied by a real or perceived permission structure that helps spur political threats and violence. Just weeks ago, the nation witnessed an assassination attempt against a presidential candidate—simultaneously shameful and unsurprising in this incendiary political environment.

A course correction is necessary. This article recommends several ways that Americans across the ideological spectrum, including political leaders, can implement a fundamental reset of political norms that respect the rule of law and the U.S. Constitution; promote civil and truthful discourse; build trust in elections and peaceful transfers of power; and stop the political violence that flourishes when those norms are weak. Americans must reject the instinct to retreat to partisan corners and instead unite to do the hard work that this tumultuous moment in history demands.

Background

Challenges to the republic are not new. The United States has experienced other periods when the rule of law and civil discourse have broken down, resulting in chapters of political violence that include the Civil War and the assassinations of four presidents. Over the past several years, the nation has again witnessed significant challenges to the rule of law, with profound threats to our participatory democracy, free and fair elections, and peaceful transfers of power. For example, on January 6, 2021, rioters waged a deadly siege at the U.S. Capitol, temporarily stopping the peaceful transfer of presidential power, after former President Donald Trump urged them to march to the Capitol. Speaking about the January 6 riot, a far-right congresswoman said that if she had led the rioters, they would have been armed and “would have won.” And recently, the U.S. Supreme Court jettisoned nearly 250 years of precedent to bestow sweeping legal immunity for presidents’ official acts in office.

This breakdown in the rule of law and norms surrounding elections has led to political leaders increasingly normalizing dangerous rhetoric and violent threats, aided by a social media ecosystem that allows the easy spread of lies about elections and candidates. A mainstream, pervasive culture of violence permits political leaders to use dehumanizing, emotionally tinged language to stoke social, racial, or ethnic grievances, with some leaders even suggesting that Americans should use their Second Amendment gun rights to deal with perceived opponents. In a 2023 report, the FBI and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reported that violent white supremacists “continued to pose the most consistent threat of lethal and non-lethal violence against religious, cultural, and government targets.”

Lawbreaking and violent rhetoric or behavior are not limited to the right. For example, in 2022, a person attempted to assassinate a U.S. Supreme Court justice, in part responding to a court decision that limited abortion rights. A year earlier, a Democratic congresswoman exhorted followers to “get more confrontational” in the wake of ongoing racial justice protests. In 2017, a man with a history of lashing out at Republicans shot five people, including then-House Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA).

There has been a significant increase in incidents of political violence since 2016. In 2023 alone, there were 8,008 threats against members of Congress of both parties. Violent threats are also aimed at public servants, including judges, prosecutors, court personnel, jurors, and their families. In part due to a record number of threats against state and local election officials, 39 percent of these officials resigned in 2022, taking with them valuable institutional knowledge about administering elections. Some traditional polling places, such as public schools, are now declining to allow their facilities to be used, out of safety concerns. The culture of violence is fueled by easy access to firearms and record-high gun ownership, along with the aforementioned rise in white supremacist terrorism—the subject of a responsive bipartisan policy blueprint authored in 2021 by CAP and the McCain Institute.

Although Americans broadly espouse the principles of robust political debate and peaceful protest, an increasing number say they accept political violence as a means to “save the country.” More than two-thirds of Americans across party lines now believe the republic is under threat, and almost 50 percent believe future presidential election losses will result in violence.

When baseline political norms are weak and Americans feel unable to solve differences peacefully at the ballot box, it harms communities, silences important voices, and chills participation in public service—not only endangering what binds the republic but also risking people’s health and safety. It is little wonder that trust in government continues to hover near all-time lows, with appreciable numbers of Americans now saying they are open to autocracy.

4 crucial political norms

American political culture urgently needs a baseline reset. The following four fundamental principles are mutually reinforcing:

1. Respect for the Constitution and the rule of law
2. Civil and truthful discourse
3. Free and fair elections that reflect the will of the majority and result in peaceful transfers of power
4. Rejection of political violence and intimidation

Cementing these foundational norms would benefit every American—helping rebuild societal trust in elections and the political process, increasing confidence in government, encouraging greater respect for opposing viewpoints, and reducing the harmful extremism and violence that endanger our way of life.

8 ways to set healthy political norms and reduce violence

There are many nonpartisan actions that patriotic Americans can take to reinforce the four guiding principles listed above:

1. All Americans, including political leaders across the ideological spectrum, must embrace and model acceptable public behavior. This entails building a robust movement at the national, state, and local levels—including faith leaders, the business community, labor unions, veterans, students, and many others—willing to prioritize a strong democracy rooted in the rule of law and the Constitution.
2. All Americans, including political leaders, must publicly condemn violations of the law and political intimidation and violence. Doing so will eliminate the underlying permission structure and culture of violence that embolden people to ignore the law and threaten perceived opponents. Authority figures have a unique role to play, as studies show that people are more likely to engage in violent rhetoric when leaders do so.
3. People must be willing to “police their own.” This means calling out people with whom they usually agree whenever those people violate laws or norms, including when they resort to using political threats or dehumanizing language. People’s love of country must supersede their political party or group identity, which can be uncomfortable but is imperative.
4. Law enforcement officials and the judicial system must prioritize swiftly holding offenders accountable when they violate the law for political purposes, including when they resort to intimidation or violence. Meaningful legal accountability would send a strong deterrent message and rebut a permission structure.
5. Communities must promote stronger civic education, civic engagement, and civil debate. This would build more trust in institutions and political processes while helping everyday Americans appreciate the important role they can play in community-driven solutions. Civics education should also teach students how to identify trusted sources of information, especially regarding elections and political candidates. Social media platforms and generative artificial intelligence (AI) developers must take steps to slow the spread of disinformation and misinformation, including by countering AI-generated election-related content.
6. States and localities must dedicate fulsome resources to protecting free and fair elections, including bolstering election security and integrity, as well as protecting election officials and workers. Local election administrators must proactively use their powerful voices to educate the public about how elections are generally well-run and trustworthy. Moreover, state election officials should find ways to support each other across political party and state lines, as five Republican secretaries of state did in December 2023.
7. To guard against efforts to subvert free and fair elections, states must strengthen and support election certification processes. Among other actions, states should clarify that election certification is a nondiscretionary duty limited to certifying that the statement of election results accurately reflects the numbers of the returns that were provided—nothing more. Stakeholders must oppose attempts to weaken certification rules and laws, such as the rules recently passed by the state election board in Georgia, and, if necessary, the U.S. Department of Justice should use federal laws to compel certification of valid election results. Congress’ crucial 2022 update to the Electoral Count Act stands as a strong example of how to achieve bipartisan consensus on issues related to finalizing election results.

8. Lawmakers should consider implementing structural electoral reforms that reduce political polarization and extremism, which many states and localities have done. As CAP has written many times, a variety of potent electoral reforms exist. These include ending partisan gerrymandering, in addition to implementing a combination of open primaries and ranked choice voting, now used in Alaska, where officials across the political spectrum are seeing more consensus building and civil debate.

Conclusion

Given the precarious moment the nation is facing, Americans must honor democracy and exercise their power to renew it. Bridging ideological differences, people can take a range of productive steps to collectively help set healthy political norms and reject a culture that allows lawbreaking and political violence to flourish. If we take these steps, we can, to rephrase President Grover Cleveland, prevent the ship of our democracy from sinking through the mutiny of those onboard.