Assault on American democracy has gained pace since US Capitol attack | The Guardian Opinion - Sam Levine |

But the effort to disrupt and undermine American democracy didn't end on 6 January. In fact, it has speeded up over the 12 months since then.

Working in state legislatures across the US, Republicans have launched a methodical effort to undermine the post-election processing of votes and the people who count them. One year after the effort to steal the 2020 election for Donald Trump failed, Republicans have put in place machinery to ensure future attempts could be successful. The potential for a stolen election in the US is higher than ever.

In recent years there has been growing alarm over the way the Republican party has eagerly embraced voter suppression - efforts to change election rules to make it harder to vote. But what's happening now, experts say, is new - an effort to take control of the administration of elections and vote counting itself.

"What we're seeing is an unprecedented, multi-pronged assault on the foundations of our democracy," said Wendy Weiser, who directs the democracy program at the Brennan Center for Justice. "We're really seeing an all-out effort to undermine election administration in America."

Republicans have built this attack around three pillars. First, they have encouraged and fomented doubt about the results of the 2020 election. Second, they have passed new laws that inject more partisanship into election administration. And third, they have sought to take over key election offices from which they could exert enormous unilateral power over vote-counting and post-election certification.