Our democratic system of government works best when everyone is operating from the same basic set of facts.

Unfortunately, though, partisan “news” outlets and online misinformation campaigns have led to significant misunderstandings as to the events surrounding our elections in 2020.

So, I think we need to get all our local candidates, especially the ones running for federal office, on the record when it comes to two basic questions:

Was Joe Biden legitimately elected on Nov. 3, 2020 in a free and fair election?

Would you agree with the Republican National Committee that the events of Jan. 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol were “legitimate political discourse,” or were they a violent insurrection aimed at preventing the peaceful transfer of power?

We can’t have a democratic system of government if we can’t agree on these basic facts, so editors and journalists, I hope you’ll ask these questions of the candidates this year, and press them for specifics if they try to dodge in their responses.

Barbara Potts

Lahaina