Democracy in Disarray
Ethan Gray / Nov 24 / Democracy
In the days following election night, I woke up each morning to more news of the President calling for our democratic process's halt. The administration has continued to make widespread claims of fraud, and it is yet to provide any substantial evidence of it in court. It is a dangerous path for a president to take, not only for the sake of democratic norms but also for the prospect of a peaceful transfer of power.
I do not wish to assert that litigating claims of voter fraud is wrong. Officials should pursue all claims they can substantiate to maintain voter trust and ensure a fair process. The issue comes to a head, in my opinion, when you discredit the entire election and sow doubt amongst the electorate before providing evidence. Time Magazine reports that Judges have tossed out most of the Trump legal team's lawsuits in crucial battleground states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Nevada. There is ongoing litigation in some states, but the writing is on the wall. Even if the administration wins its ongoing cases, there are not enough ballots in question to turn over the electoral results. What concerns me is that the false narrative pushed by the President, which has already caused millions of Americans to discredit the results, will have wide-reaching ramifications for the incoming administration.
Our electoral system is the structure that set this country ahead of its time—designed by our founders to rebuke a system based on a single Monarch. It is perhaps the most fundamental aspect of our system of government. Much of American politics is governed by the powers set within the constitution and political norms. Accepting election results and aiding the incoming administration's transition is one of those standards. The culture of abiding by political norms and precedents was established by George Washington when he refused to run for a third term as President. An unwritten rule all presidents followed thereafter, save Franklin Delano Roosevelt, until that unspoken rule became a ratified amendment of the constitution in 1951. While we have become accustomed to Donald Trump and much of the GOP ignoring many of these unwritten rules in the past four years, I truly hoped that our electoral process would manage to escape the dangerous path it was set on.
Before going more in-depth, I would like to address what many Trump voters see, somewhat correctly, as hypocrisy from Democrats. In the wake of the 2016 election, widespread calls of Russian interference led to investigations and many Democrats lost faith in that election. I find the difference between 2016 and 2020 to be that Hillary Clinton actually conceded after the electoral math was insurmountable, and President Obama invited President-Elect Trump to the White House the next day. I would also add that the Democrat’s claims had a basis of truth; Russian interference was confirmed to have happened and is still happening according to our defense agencies. According to the American Constitution Society, the Special Council's report in 2019 led to more than 30 indictments, found "sweeping and systemic" Russian interference that favored President Trump, and detailed numerous links between the campaign and Russian actors.
That being said, the subsequent investigations did not disparage our institutions, and the most sacred aspect of American democracy was left mostly in-tact. The investigative process was allowed to proceed, nobody called for an actual halt to the election, and the transition between administrations continued.
What are the ramifications for America and how the world views its system? I find the future of both considerations quite concerning. The President carries such sway with his voters that a group in Michigan called for the vote to stop being counted, while protestors in Arizona called for the count's completion. What this shows me is partisanship has in many ways, transcended reality, to a point where supporters of the same party are actively contradicting each other. We now live in a world where the incumbent administration can say, "We're waiting for the United States Supreme Court- in which the President has nominated three justices – to step in and do something. And hopefully, Amy Coney Barrett will come through." The degradation of election norms is frankly quite astounding and something I find incredibly sad to see, as someone who finds our institutions to be the pillar of American democracy.
Where we go from here is uncharted territory. The Senate will likely remain in Republican control, so the scorched earth strategy of stonewalling from Mitch McConnell during Obama's tenure is likely to remain. Comprehensive climate change policies are dead, systemic reform and democratization initiatives are a pipedream, and executive appointments will be an uphill battle. Citizens are as divided as ever, the norms that previously governed non-enumerated powers in the constitution are gone, and Donald Trump's Twitter feed is not going anywhere.
The last weeks have made our system look like a farce to the world. A world in which we try to spread our system of governance. It certainly is a dichotomous strategy to disparage our elections and then expect other countries to look at the United States as a beacon to follow. And that is what Joe Biden must aim to fix. The West's democracies once had a dependable ally in the United States; one that they could trust to spread liberal democratic values around the world. As a more assertive and increasingly authoritarian China rises in the east, another system exists for emerging countries to heed. Will they follow China? Who seemingly controlled the pandemic quite effectively and is making massive investments across the developing world? Or will they follow America? The country with the most COVID deaths and a leader actively sowing discord in the system that put him into power. Right now, many countries may find the former more compelling. That is unlikely to change unless we have a change of tune from the White House. America needs a reset of relations with allies and an ambitious policy to recapture lost influence on the global stage in a newly bi-polar world.
There is a long road ahead for The United States, and I choose to believe the best days are ahead. I hope we can reassert the rhetoric of decency, compassion, and democratic values. But I would be lying if I did not say that everything our founders created this union for has been derided by the President's words this November. It is painful to watch him disrespect that storied and historic office with reckless abandon. This rhetoric is unprecedented. These actions are not normal. Candidates have not acted in this way while staring down defeat in the past. We can and have done better. I hope Americans will come to see that.