The certification of President Biden’s electoral victory in 2021 stands as one of the most politically contentious moments in US history. Notably, on January 6th, 2021, a mob of supporters of President Trump stormed the Capitol, interrupting the congressional session to certify Biden as the 46th president of the United States. The “insurrection,” as many regard it, lives in infamy as one of the key moments in US history where democracy was under serious attack. The attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6th demonstrates how the erosion of democratic norms can threaten democracy, while also highlighting the importance of institutions and their job in resisting challenges and upholding democratic processes.

Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, in their book How Democracies Die, emphasize the importance that informal democratic norms outside of formal institutions have on democratic processes like elections. They discuss the specific norm that is mutual toleration, or accepting opponents as legitimate winners and conceding an election when it is lost. Similarly, Nancy Bermeo, in her work On Democratic Backsliding, discusses how democracy is eroded through the gradual weakening of democratic systems. Trump’s refusal to accept the election results violated the mutual toleration principle while showing signs of erosion through the gradual delegitimization of the election results. Trump stated on X (formerly Twitter) that he “got 71,000,000 legal votes” and “won the election.on,” This was followed by months of continued denial from him and his voter base, as well as a slew of lawsuits contesting the election process, most of which were dismissed or rejected by the courts. The actions of President Trump leading up to the January 6th riots demonstrate that the riots are a result of weakened confidence in the legitimacy of the 2020 election results, driven by the violation of mutual toleration and intense scrutiny of the election outcomes. 

After Trump’s delegitimizing of the election by verbal and legal means, the so-called “peaceful transfer of power” and the idea of mutual toleration were slowly weakened up until the day of the certification. January 6th was a physical representation of election denial and discreditation in an attempt to stop the democratic process. Juan Linz and Alfred Stepan, in their work The Breakdown of Democratic Regimes, signal that the breakdown of democracy occurs when political actors regard opponents as illegitimate, in an effort to maintain political power after doing so, choosing this over preserving democratic rules. The riot resulted in the attack of over 140 Capitol and District of Columbia police officers, and over 1,500 people were charged in connection with the Capitol riots. After this, politicians in Congress joined bipartisan leadership and Vice President Mike Pence in condemning the riots and certifying the election. Additionally, prior to the certification of the election, the courts rejected Trump’s legal claims of election fraud, signaling another institution upholding the credibility of the electoral process.  While the riot itself signaled a country in democratic decline and marked what seemed to be the end of the era of peaceful power transfers, democratic institutions, along with leaders committed to upholding democratic ideals, acted as a safety net that protected American democracy despite violent outside pressures. When democratic norms fail, institutions and democratic actors are essential in restoring the democratic process, and the 2020 election certification serves as a prime example of Linz and Stepan’s theory. 

January 6th was an attack on the legitimacy of American democracy This, in part, was due to the degradation of norms like mutual toleration and peaceful transfers of power. Despite this, though, democratic institutions to certify the election remained strong, and political actors followed their obligation to validate the election. While democratic norms remain an essential pillar of democratic stability, strong institutions and committed leaders are essential when norms no longer hold. This can be observed in two ways: the first being the actions taken by the courts, and the second being through bipartisan efforts to certify the election after the January 6th riots. It is easy to look at the January 6th situation and begin to doubt the strength of our Democracy, it also illuminates that there are safeguards in place that may stop an instance from pushing past the point of erosion.  

Sources:

“A difficult year.” How officers who defended the Capitol are grappling with efforts to downplay Jan. 6 violence. (2026, January 5). PBS News. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/a-difficult-year-how-officers-who-defended-the-capitol-are-grappling-with-efforts-to-downplay-jan-6-violence

Bermeo, N. (2016). On democratic backsliding. Journal of Democracy, 27(1), 5–19. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2016.0012

Blood, M. R., & Colvin, J. (2021, June 25). Pence “proud” of his role certifying 2020 election results | AP News. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-michael-pence-constitutions-government-and-politics-a8e29ab2c6bc5a5fecd9e4236eb8f3c3

Duignan, & Brian. (2026, April 15). January 6 U.S. Capitol Attack | Background, events, criminal charges, & facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/event/January-6-U-S-Capitol-attack

Gringlas, S. (2020, November 7). “Far from over”: Trump refuses to concede as Biden’s margin of victory widens. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-2020-election-results/2020/11/07/932062684/far-from-over-trump-refuses-to-concede-as-ap-others-call-election-for-biden

Levitsky, S., & Ziblatt, D. (2018). How democracies die. Crown.

Linz, J. J., & Stepan, A. (Eds.). (1978). The breakdown of democratic regimes. Johns Hopkins University Press.

Litigation in the 2020 election. (n.d.). https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_interest/election_law/litigation/