Claims extracted
15
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
7%
1 of 15 hedged
("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans strongly left
expected in commentary, which argues a position · beta estimate
Publisher signals
not measured
these signals count newsroom corrections;
Commentary has none to count
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
THEY FLEW IN FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY:
asserted
THEY → fly → COUNTRY
Some 250 lawyers, policy experts, communication staffers, and other leaders from the American Civil Liberties Union huddled in a hotel conference room in Philadelphia last April trying to figure out what to do if American democracy goes to shit.
asserted
democracy → huddle → shit
For two and a half days, the group walked through twenty-five variations on how Donald Trump and his allies might mess with the midterm elections.
uncertain
Trump → walk → elections
The scenarios ranged from Trump casting doubt on the results without evidence, to interference from the Justice Department, to the deployment of ICE or the National Guard at the polls, to the refusal by Republican leaders in Congress to seat Democratic victors.
asserted
Trump → range → victors
Such hypotheticals had been discussed publicly and privately before.
asserted
hypotheticals → discuss → ?
What the ACLU was trying to do at that gathering was to wargame what effective responses would look like—and to explore a more uncomfortable question: What if no response comes together?
asserted
response → try → question
The participants wrote up mock press releases and came up with advocacy, legal, and organizing game plans.
asserted
participants → write → plans
They made state-specific plans and worked through who, in each scenario, would be their first call: the state attorney general, the election director, or some other figure.
asserted
who → make → scenario
Lending a feeling of urgency to the proceedings was some breaking news: As the participants worked through the scenarios, the Supreme Court announced its ruling gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
asserted
Court → lend → Act
ACLU officials told me that while they weren’t surprised by the ruling, they were caught off guard by how quickly Republican-controlled states rushed to carve up the electoral power of black voters in the South—underscoring the importance of the work they were doing.
asserted
they → tell → work
And one other theme emerged as the conference went on: More than in any previous election, this year’s midterms would be contested in states with known election deniers in positions of power over election administration.
asserted
midterms → emerge → administration
“It’s hard to imagine that these people who have gone to such trouble, to such lengths, to try to take power, are going to just peacefully accept the results,” Deirdre Schifeling, the ACLU’s chief political and advocacy officer, told me.
asserted
Schifeling → ’ → me
“We are prepared on all fronts,” Schifeling said.
asserted
Schifeling → say → fronts
The ACLU is not the only pro-democracy organization that has been engaged in this type of preparation in the leadup to the midterms.
asserted
that → engage → midterms
In fact, in nearly a dozen conversations with officials at civil-society groups and Democratic-aligned organizations this week, it became clear that quietly, behind the scenes,
asserted
it → align → scenes
The Aporia
