Stacey Abrams Warns of Rising Authoritarianism During Visit to Wisconsin

She is a voting rights advocate, author, and former Georgia House Minority Leader. Stacey Abrams is also not afraid to call out what she warns are troubling signs of rising authoritarianism in the United States. Abrams joined Maggie Daun, host of The Maggie Daun Show, to discuss the “10 steps to autocracy,” a framework she adapted from Princeton University scholar Kim Lane Scheppele. 

“We have to recognize authoritarianism. It doesn’t announce itself,” Abrams explains. “What we are seeing are deliberate efforts to expand executive power, weaken checks and balances, scapegoat marginalized communities, and ultimately strip away the power of the vote.”

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Abrams was born in Madison and is back in Wisconsin to promote her latest novel Coded Justice. It explores the ethical dilemmas of artificial intelligence in veteran health care. She is also taking part in the annual Cap Times Idea Fest in the city. 

Daun asks Abrams about her criticism of a recent Supreme Court “shadow docket” ruling and she argues it legitimizes racial profiling, calling it a suspension of constitutional rights.

“There is no moment in recorded human history where stripping rights based on race has not been part of an autocratic regime,” she says.

She also ties Republican-led attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, as well as voting rights restrictions – to broader patterns of democratic erosion. And Abrams notes Wisconsin has been “ground zero” for restrictive voter ID laws by pointing to cases where Black residents were denied access to the ballot.

“The real fraud is the effort to disenfranchise qualified voters,” Abrams says. “Our responsibility is to demand not just the right to cast a ballot, but the power of the vote itself.”

Despite the heavy topics, Abrams also talks about her fiction writing career, including her newest thriller, which weaves together her longstanding interests in law, ethics, and technology.

Meantime, her message to Wisconsinites is clear: defending democracy requires constant vigilance, no matter one’s political affiliation. 

“If we believe in expanding opportunity and access, then we are patriots,” Abrams says. “If we don’t, we are denying who we are as a nation.”