Ken Burns: ‘Something more fundamental at stake’ in this election

Filmmaker Ken Burns has described the 2026 US midterm elections as a test of the country’s democratic institutions. In an opinion essay published on election day, he argued that the United States faces what he called a fourth great crisis, after the Civil War, the Great Depression and the Second World War. He blamed misinformation and political division for weakening trust in elections and other institutions. These are Burns’s assessments, rather than findings established by the election itself.

Burns said the vote matters beyond disagreements over policy because Congress has a duty to check presidential power. Drawing on the concerns of the country’s founders about leaders who might disregard the law or resist an election result, he urged voters to consider whether candidates would honour their constitutional oaths. Despite his warning, he expressed optimism that Americans could use democratic institutions and a shared sense of civic responsibility to address their divisions.