Barton Gellman

Atlantic journalist Bart Gellman says the Republican party is increasingly unwilling to accept defeat and, in fact, is "prepared to win by sacrificing the essential elements of democracy."

Atlantic writer Barton Gellman discusses what the election has revealed about our system's weaknesses — and what he's learned about the Trump and Biden legal strategies if the election is contested.

Barton Gellman writes about the 2020 presidential election — and how he thinks it could trigger a constitutional crisis — in his latest article for The Atlantic. He notes that typically elections are ended when one candidate concedes to the other. It's a system, he says, that "presumes good behavior and presumes that a rational and well-meaning candidate will accept reality when it comes." But Gellman does not trust a scenario that relies upon good faith from the president.