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Brian Lehrer: Brian Lehrer on WNYC. As we said, it is time for our daily fall membership drive week democracy and other potpourri quiz. If you get three in a row right, we will send you one of those Brian Lehrer Show pro-democracy tote bags. If you want to play, you can get in line now. 212-433-WNYC, 212-433-9692. If you were paying attention to our segment with Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank just before, you will be at an unfair advantage, but you can probably get three in a row, right?

Anyway, even if you weren't listening, 212-433-WNYC. Come on in and play. Maybe you'll win something. 212-433-9692. We'll start with Amanda in Manhattan. Hi, Amanda. Ready to play?

Amanda: I think so.

Brian Lehrer: We'll find out, won't we? Of course, the theme of these quizzes is, is this the truth or is it a lie? The first few questions will be about our democracy topic today, then we'll move on to some variety-packed questions. We like to start easy. Is this the truth or is it a lie? Joe Biden was the legitimate winner of the 2020 presidential election.

Amanda: That is true.

Brian Lehrer: Very good. That's one. Next question. Earlier this month, the FBI warned of a heightened risk of violent threats in seven battleground states. The threats the FBI warned about would be against election workers. Is that the truth or is it a lie?

Amanda: That's the truth.

Brian Lehrer: That is the truth, unfortunately. Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin were the seven states. All right. For the tote bag, 60% of Americans will have at least one election denier on the ballot this election day or already if they're already voting, but 60%, is that the truth or is it a lie, of Americans will have at least one election denier on the ballot?

Amanda: I don't want it to be true, but I'm going to say it's true.

Brian Lehrer: Sadly, you are right. That is the truth. Hang on, Amanda, we're going to take your address and we'll send you a Brian Lehrer Show pro-democracy tote. Where does that number come from, listeners? The reason we do the quiz is because we learn stuff from the framing of these questions. According to the political data site FiveThirtyEight, they say out of 552 total Republican nominees running for office, they found 199 who fully denied the legitimacy of the 2020 election.

Those candidates either clearly stated that the election was stolen from Trump or even took legal action to overturn the results such as voting not to certify election results or joining lawsuits that sought to overturn the election. That would include Lee Zeldin running for governor in New York, for example, who voted not to certify as a member of Congress on January 6th and many others.

Moreover, says FiveThirtyEight, an additional 183 candidates who haven't gone so far as to say explicitly that the election was stolen or take legal election to overturn it won't say that the election was fair. When asked whether the election was legitimate, that additional number bringing it to 382 election deniers out of 552 total Republican candidates running nationwide this year would not say that Joe Biden's election was fair.

To add to that, The Washington Post has similar but slightly lower numbers counting 51% of all Republican candidates as election deniers, not 60%, but that's still a majority. All right. Laurie Ann in Naples, Florida. Hi, Laurie Ann, you're on WNYC. Ready to play?

Laurie Ann: Good morning, Brian. Yes. I want to say I'm the sustaining member even though I'm in Florida. [unintelligible 00:04:34] to you all the time.

Brian Lehrer: Yes. Thank you very much for that. We really appreciate your support. By the way, I made a mistake. I said we were going to send Amanda from Manhattan a pro-democracy tote bag. It's the sweatshirt that we're giving away, the pro-democracy sweatshirt if you get three in a row right.

This one, Laurie Ann, is a follow-up on that last answer about election deniers on the ballot. Is this the truth or is it a lie? Most of the election deniers on the ballot are running in either tightly contested races, so they may tip many seats in Congress from Democrat into the election-denying category, or running in Democratic areas. I'll say it again. Most of the election deniers on the ballot are running in either tightly contested races or in mostly democratic areas, so they may tip many seats in Congress from Democrat into the election-denying category. Is that the truth or is it a lie?

Laurie Ann: I'm sorry to say, I think they're running in tightly contested elections.

Brian Lehrer: Unfortunately, no, sorry Laurie Ann, thanks for trying. This blessedly appears to be false based on a Washington Post article that said most of the election deniers nominated are likely to win because of the nearly 300 on the ballot, 171 are running for safely Republican seats, only 48 will appear on the ballot in tightly contested races, says the Washington Post.

What that says to me is that, in Republican strongholds, election denialism is a matter of faith, and candidates have to tow that line. In swing districts, however, many voters know better and so running on it becomes a risk. That's probably a good sign for reality prevailing where it matters politically helping to save democracy according to the Washington Post but it means the answer to that question was it was false. Mark in Lakewood, you're on WNYC. Ready to play?

Mark: Good morning. Yes.

Brian Lehrer: Last year, in connection with a big lie, a major voting machine manufacturer sued a guy best known for making pillows. Is that the truth or is it a lie?

Mark: Yes, it's truth.

Brian Lehrer: Yes, that's true. Dominion Voting Systems filed a $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit accusing MyPillow CEO Michael Lindell, big Trump supporter, of promoting baseless voter fraud claims about the company's voting machines. All right, next question, a follow-up. Mike Lindell, the pillow guy, went to the Trump-friendly Supreme Court asking to have the case against him thrown out, and they did, so that case is dead. Is that the truth or is it a lie?

Mark: That's the truth also.

Brian Lehrer: Unfortunately, for you, Mark, but probably fortunately for democracy, that is a lie. The Supreme Court said the case can go forward and be heard in the lower court. Mark, thanks for giving that a shot. Ken in Manhattan you're on WNYC. Ready to play?

Ken: Medium sweatshirt.

Brian Lehrer: Medium. We will take your size in advance, very, very presumptuous, counting your chickens inside your pro-democracy sweatshirt before they hatch. True or false? Threats to election workers are considered such a real possibility that Georgia has unveiled a dedicated text message number for election workers to report potential danger. Is that the truth or is it a lie?

Ken: I'll say truth.

Brian Lehrer: That is the truth. We talked about that in the segment that we did with Dana Milbank. Next question. For all the talk of potential election worker harassment, a Justice Department task force established last summer to combat threats against election workers had by early August reviewed just 50 actual hostile or harassing contacts involving election workers. They only documented 50 as of August of these things actually happening. Is that the truth or is it a lie?

Ken: I'll go with false.

Brian Lehrer: False is correct. The task force said that it had reviewed more than 1,000 hostile or harassing contacts involving election workers. You are just one correct answer away from that medium-sized sweatshirt. Is this the truth or is it a lie? At the last public hearing of the January 6th committee this month, the committee played a clip of Steve Bannon saying this about Trump and the outcome of the 2020 election. Bannon said, "He's going to sit right there and say they stole it. That's our strategy." Did Steve Bannon really say that?

Ken: Yes.

Brian Lehrer: Steve Bannon did really say that. Ken in Manhattan, you win yourself a Brian Lehrer Show pro-democracy sweatshirt. What's your size? Oh, medium. I knew that.

Ken: Yes, medium.

Brian Lehrer: Okay, hang on, we'll take your address. All right, let's go next to Molly in Brooklyn.  Hi, Molly. Ready to play?

Molly: Yes. Hi, Brian. You make me proud to be a New Yorker.

Brian Lehrer: Thank you. The number of people charged in the January 6th attack on the US Capitol is expected to keep growing as the investigation by the Justice Department continues. So far, as of October 17th, which is the last time we looked it up, less than 100 people have been actually charged. Again, in the January 6th investigations, as of October 17th, less than 100 people have actually been criminally charged by the Justice Department. Is that the truth or is it a lie?

Molly: I'm going to say true.

Brian Lehrer: Oh, I'm sorry, Molly. That is false. It's at least 928 people, and that number comes from the Department of Justice, the new site, listeners, if you're curious. Insider has compiled the names. 928 people actually indicted, charged so far in connection with January 6th. We'll go next to Jen in Brooklyn. Hi, Jen. Ready to play?

Jen: I sure am.

Brian Lehrer: Is it the truth or is it a lie that no more than 50 people among those federally charged for taking part in the interaction have entered guilty pleas? Only less than 50 people out of those 928 have pleaded guilty. The rest are proclaiming their innocence. Is that the truth or is it a lie?

Jen: Oh, I really don't know that one. I hate to say it's the truth. I'll say it's a lie.

Brian Lehrer: You are correct that it is false. The actual number according to DoJ data, compiled, again, by that new sit, insider, it's 417. 417 people have already pleaded guilty to January 6th related charges. All right, next question. On January 6th, even after the riot, more than 100 Republicans in the house voted to reject the presidential election results. Is that number the truth or is it a lie? That more than 100 House Republicans, even when they went back, late on the night of the 6th, early in the morning of the 7th, voted to reject the presidential election results. Is that the truth?

Jen: Oh, I really don't want it to be true. I don't think it's that high, but I'll say it's a lie. It can't be that high.

Brian Lehrer: I'm sorry, but unfortunately for you, and unfortunately for America, that is the truth. The exact number, according to the New York Times was 139, which is a majority of the House Republicans rejecting the electoral college vote. Let's go next to Lisa in New Rochelle. Hi, Lisa. You're on WNYC. Ready to play?

Lisa: Yes.

Brian Lehrer: Okay. We just established that 139 House Republicans voted not to certify the election on January 6th. True or false, just one Democrat in the house voted to contest the electoral college count, a Democrat from Staten Island. Is that the truth or is it a lie?

Lisa: I think it's a lie.

Brian Lehrer: That is a lie because no Democrat voted to dispute the electoral college count that night. All right, next question. Is this the truth or is it a lie? The only two Republican representatives on the January 6th committee are Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. Is that the truth or is it a lie?

Lisa: I think it's a lie.

Brian Lehrer: That is a lie because we were testing the names there. We think that they're well enough known that that was a fair question. Liz Cheney, of course, was one and the other one is Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, not Brian Fitzpatrick. You are one question away from a sweatshirt. Is this the truth or is it a lie? The January 6th panel has now subpoenaed former President Donald Trump to get his testimony.

Lisa: Yes, that is true.

Brian Lehrer: That turns out to be an easy one. That came up third in your set.

Lisa: I'm getting a sweatshirt.

Brian Lehrer: You get a Brian Lehrer Show pro-democracy sweatshirt. Hang on. We will take your size in private, off the air, unlike that other guy, and we'll take your address as well.

Listeners, thanks for playing. That's our Brian Lehrer Show fall membership drive, pro-democracy and other stuff quiz for today. We'll have another one tomorrow. Our next guest, stay tuned, is Peter Sagal, host of Wait Wait. Stay with us.

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