SEATTLE — No matter a person's politics, Election Day in a divided country carries emotion.
"It's sort of like waiting for the piano to fall on the cartoon character," said James Long, University of Washington associate professor of political science. "You think something bad may actually happen and you're just waiting for it to happen."
Long studies democracy and elections in developing countries. He hosted the podcast “Neither Free Nor Fair?” which discussed election security and the fate of democracy in the 21st century.
He's observed as the political division has increased in the United States and election deniers have gained a platform. He calls democracy a way of negotiating politics among a diverse group of people and said it can easily be taken for granted.
"For those who believe in free and fair elections and supporting electoral integrity, there's going to be a lot of anxiety about who's potentially elected [Tuesday] and who's in charge of managing elections for the next two years," Long said.
Many states have candidates who openly deny the results of the 2020 election running for governor and secretary of state. Long said those are races he'll be watching closely.
"I never thought I would be really worried about electoral integrity in the United States in the way that I am in other countries and now, I am," Long said. "That being said, the way we actually cast and count ballots, if it's done legally, is really, really secure. It's more the politics around it that are the problem and I think that's sort of the worry I have moving forward."
If Republicans flip a branch of Congress, Long anticipates gridlock in Washington, D.C. with politicians looking ahead to 2024.
As for Tuesday's midterms, with so many close races, his advice is to be patient.
"People shouldn't necessarily think that anything's gone wrong if the news media doesn't call certain races on Tuesday night or even Wednesday," Long said. "I think it really will take at least a few days, if not a few weeks."