Democracy is expected to be a large issue in the 2024 election. An AP-NORC poll of 1,074 adults conducted between November 30 to December 4, 2023, found that 62% of adults said democracy could be at risk depending on who wins the next election.
[242]
Polling before the election has indicated profound dissatisfaction with the state of American democracy.
[243][244][245] Liberals tend to believe that
conservatives are threatening the country with
Christian nationalist autocratic tendencies and their attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
[246] Some Republicans are concerned that Trump's former
impeachment and
four criminal indictments are attempts to influence the election and keep him from office.
[247] However, there is no evidence that Trump's criminal trials are "election interference" orchestrated by Joe Biden and the Democratic Party.
[82][43] Trump has repeated
false claims that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen from him.
[13]
Donald Trump's 2024 campaign has been criticized by legal experts, historians, and political scientists for making
increasingly violent and
authoritarian statements,
[248][249][250] which some believe the Trump campaign is intentionally leaning into.
[251] Trump's platform calls for the vast expansion of presidential powers and the executive branch over every part of the federal government.
[252] Trump has called for
stripping employment protections for thousands of career civil service employees and replacing them with political loyalists if deemed an "obstacle to his agenda" within federal agencies, the
United States Intelligence Community,
State Department, and
Department of Defense.
[253] Trump has repeatedly stated his intention to have the Justice Department investigate and arrest his domestic political rivals, judges, prosecutors, and witnesses involved in his criminal trials.
[254][255][256] Trump has previously tried to prosecute his political rivals and would have fewer checks on his power in a second term.
[257] Project 2025 is a proposed plan by the
Heritage Foundation to centralize power into the
executive branch for conservative policies to be enacted without input from the judicial branch, legislative branch or local government. The plan received some support from the Republican Party. The document was written in part by former members of the
Trump administration such as
Russell Vought, and
John McEntee[258] while Donald Trump stated he is unfamiliar with parts of the plan.
[259][260][261]
Trump's campaign has been noted for using increasingly
dehumanizing and violent rhetoric against his political enemies.
[123][222][262][126][263][264] Trump has
promised to pardon those charged for their involvement in the
January 6, 2021, Capitol attack and has called those charged "hostages" and "great, great patriots."
[265][266][267] Trump has played down but not ruled out violence after the 2024 election if he does not win, stating, "it depends."
[268]
Harris was tasked by Biden with protecting democracy through voting rights legislation through her work on the
For the People Act. Harris has supported efforts to defend election workers and counter
Republican efforts to restrict voting following the 2020 presidential election.
[188] Harris says she supports efforts to improve racial justice. Harris previously supported the
George Floyd Justice in Policing Act.
[188] Harris has supported demilitarizing police departments, and has pushed back against calls to defund the police.
[234] Harris has stated her support to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and
John Lewis Rights Voting Rights Advancement Act if elected.
[269]