Election denialism, which involves casting doubt on election procedures, has been sharply on the rise since former US President Donald Trump's defeat in the 2020 elections. 

Election deniers generally believe that the 2020 elections were rigged, that Trump should have won a second term, and that voter fraud was widespread.

The Washington-based Brookings Institution identified 249 individuals who identify as "election deniers" in the 567 races for the House, Senate, and key statewide offices. They all happen to be Republicans as well. 

The president of Bayer Strategic Consulting and former chief of staff in the US Senate, Mark Bayer, said the US democracy was at its "highest risk of unraveling" since World War II.

"Allegiance to the 'Big Lie' was a major campaign theme for many deniers running for office. How might these candidates respond to losing their own elections, fair and square, in November?" he said.

Despite that no valid proof has been issued yet, many still believe the last elections were rigged. 

Republican Terri Privett told sources at a recent political event in Vero Beach, Florida, that many have been convinced by the argument that Trump's large crowds relative to Biden's are concrete proof that the elections were rigged.

"You've got one guy that's in office who got empty circles around him, you know that they stole the election. Then you go to a Trump rally and there's like thousands upon thousands trying to get in," the 53-year-old cable company employee told sources.

Liz Cheney today on @MeetThePress:

"No one of any party should be voting for people who are election deniers...Kari Lake and Mark Finchem in AZ [are] telling you that they'll only certify an election they agree with. And there's not a much graver threat to democracy than that."

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) October 23, 2022

In the upcoming elections for November's midterms, Trump endorsed 200 Republicans. Trump's "Big Lie" will be made a condition for his support.

What was Trump's "Big Lie" about?

According to American journalist Johantahn Lemire, Trump first invoked the “big lie” during his 2016 campaign to hold in contempt both former opponents Senator Ted Cruz in the primary and Hillary Clinton in the general election.

When Trump lost to Cruz, he tweeted: "Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified."

In the general, a half-year later, he said, "I’m afraid the election is going to be rigged. I have to be honest."

Then, at the final presidential debate, he fervently rejected the electorate’s verdict.

“I will look at it at the time,” Trump said. “I will keep you in suspense.”

Donald Trump is a well-known pathological liar.
Everyone who know him knows this.
It's what he does for a living, literally.

But Trump's Big Lie about the 2020 election is felonious -- an attempted coup to overthrow the government. pic.twitter.com/VqoYGJXjMd

— Stop herd stupidity! (@thecitizeNY) October 23, 2022

"Political analyses indicate that most democracies do not end by revolution or military coup but erode from within," said Barbara Wejnert, an internationally-renowned political sociologist who teaches at the University of Buffalo.

"And that could be the case for American democracy if election deniers are elected, as well as if Trump is elected again as the president."

None of this would matter if the controversial candidates were fringe outsiders. But their elevation to the mainstream is a five-alarm fire, according to activists.

58% of election deniers, namely 148 out of 249, have high hopes to win their races, according to the Brookings institute. 

Nearly half are sitting House members who voted to bar certification of the 2020 presidential election, despite having no proof that the elections were rigged.

The most important races remain those that are in the 39 states electing governors, attorneys general, or secretaries of state.

Most recent updates reveal that the investigation committee looking into the US Capitol attack in 2021  subpoenaed Trump, effectively ordering that he testify about his involvement in the riot violence. 

Trump, given his history of dodging legal processions and probes, is not likely to provide evidence to the January 6 committee over his involvement in the riots. The subpoena will expire in January upon the issuing of a new congressional term. However, if he refuses to comply, the House can hold him in criminal contempt and may send him for prosecution. 

Read more: Pelosi: Trump might ditch testifying because he's not 'man enough'