Richards Center director Rachel Shelden coauthored an article in the January 6 issue of The Washington Post with fellow historian Erik B. Alexander. The article, “Ted Cruz thinks 2020 is like 1876. He’s right, but not for the reason he thinks,” considers the historical precedent behind Senator Ted Cruz’s call for the appointment of an electoral commission to adjudicate the 2020 election. In a joint statement with other senators, Cruz recalled 1877 when Congress established a bipartisan commission to resolve the status of electoral votes in Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina after Republicans and Democrats from those states submitted conflicting vote totals. In the 2020 election, however, there are no legitimately disputed electoral college votes, as each state has certified their vote totals. Instead, Shelden and Alexander note that the true similarity between 1876 and 2020 is that the losing party in both elections sought to succeed through voter suppression. Read the op-ed at the link above.