overthinking with nick.

By Nick DiCicco

American democracy is under attack! At least that’s what everyone says. Whether it be the “hanging chad” controversy in the 2000 election, the “Russia-gate” controversy in 2016, the questioning of mail-in ballots in 2020, or the claim of illegal immigrants voting in elections according to many American citizens, the credibility and system of democracy are fading, and few solutions seem to be offered.

With each new election, more claims of fraud, rigging, and other unfair tactics are brought to not only deal with unwanted results but also to blame the other party for those results. As with most things in the United States today, elections and trust in our voting system have devolved into a partisan game of blame. Voting and elections no longer represent the voice of the people; instead, they prove that the other side was cheating.

With that being said, trusting an institution or system without a reason is an ignorant way of living, even when it comes to voting. There is nothing wrong with questioning the results of an election; however, at a certain point, the results must be either dealt with or accepted.

A clear case of this is the previously mentioned “hanging chad” incident in 2000, where the election results in Florida were so close between Al Gore and George W. Bush that multiple recounts occurred. Many ballots with “hanging chads” (ballot punch cards with the selected candidate not fully punched in) were disputed, and many court cases eventually culminated in the Supreme Court halting the recounts. What was at one point projected by media outlets as a win for Al Gore ultimately resulted in George W. Bush becoming president. This election, of course, raised questions regarding the results and the way votes were recounted; however, these doubts and questions were fair and justified due to the closeness of the race.

A more recent example regarding the validity of elections occurred in 2016 due to supposed Russian interference. Democrats claimed that Russian hackers interfered with the election, and Republicans argued that this claim in itself was Democrats trying to change the outcome of the election. Somehow, both sides were trying to claim the election was rigged against each other. Well, years later, we now know whether the claims the Democrats proposed were valid or just a way to prevent President Trump from winning the election.

In order to see which side, if either, was telling the truth, it is important to look at the facts of the situation. In 2016, the DNC was hacked by Russian intelligence agents who leaked internal documents and addresses of many politicians; however, they mainly targeted many of the then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s “personal email accounts of campaign officials and party operatives, along with a number of party organizations.” Not only this, but Mueller’s investigation also concluded that Russia conducted, “…social media operations in the United States designed to sow social discord, eventually with the aim of interfering with the election.” Despite what many Republicans and President Trump claim, ultimately the Mueller report did conclude that Russia did in some way interfere with the election, even if President Trump was not working with or in contact with Russian intelligence.

Even with the results of the Mueller report, it is unlikely the investigation could have negatively impacted President Trump’s campaign anyway, due to the fact that the investigation was not even announced until May 17, 2017. Even the disputed Steele Dossier, which actually claimed that Donald Trump worked with Russian intelligence, was not released publicly until January 10, 2017, after President Trump was elected. The only time Steele’s investigation was brought publicly before the election was in a Mother Jones article, which only talked about allegations from Steele. When it comes to Hillary, however, FBI Director James Comey decided to publicly discuss the ongoing investigation into her emails before the election, something he did not do regarding Russian interference. Again, while President Trump and other Republicans claim FBI and Democrat interference in the 2016 election, that is only true against Hillary, not Trump.

The next and perhaps most controversial instance of supposed voter fraud is the infamous 2020 election. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic resulted in many states sending mail-in ballots to all voters, which not only resulted in more people voting from home, but also a huge voter turnout. For months leading up to the election, President Trump called into question the legitimacy of mail-in ballots and repeatedly voiced his distrust and dislike of them. When the ballots were counted, a majority of mail-in voters favored Joe Biden, showing how Republicans listened to President Trump’s cries against absentee voting. President Trump was not satisfied with this explanation.

Over the next few months, President Trump filed over 60 lawsuits regarding the 2020 election. Nearly all of these cases were either dismissed, withdrawn, or lost. One minor case succeeded and did not impact the results of the election.

Unfortunately these results still did not satisfy President Trump or his voters. This denial of the courts, and truth, resulted in a complex “legal” scheme to try to alter the results of the election, introduced by President Trump, with a slate of fake electors, and of course the attack on the U.S. Capitol by the President’s loyal followers.

The final, and a more recent claim regarding the legitimacy of American elections is that many noncitizens vote in elections. This claim is false. According to The Brennan Center for Justice, noncitizen voting is extremely rare. Many investigations have examined the issue and found that not only is it rare, but even when supposed noncitizens were found on voter rolls, it is likely many of them were not noncitizens or it was the result of an error.

But even after looking at what some might consider threats to American democracy, there is one glaring threat, one that has even fueled the claims mentioned above. This threat is not one that prevents an election from fairly occurring, but rather one that shatters the foundation of why democracy works. This threat is no longer a threat, but a scary reality.

It is misinformation, and denial of the truth.

A phrase that is often used to describe the time we are in is that we are living in a “post-truth era.” This phrase is defined as, “a situation in which people are more likely to accept an argument based on their emotions and beliefs, rather than one based on facts.” Unfortunately, this does not work with democracy; yet this is how presidential elections are won.

Each one of the reasons mentioned above as to why people distrust elections (except for Gore v. Bush) is a result of misinformation. Russian interference in the 2016 election was either claimed by some Democrats to have been President Trump working with Russian intelligence or claimed by President Trump to have completely been a Democrat hoax. The truth, as you now know, is found somewhere in between.

Unfortunately, the other two cases do not offer such an “in the middle” answer. Illegal immigrants do not vote in elections. President Trump did not win the 2020 election. Investigations occurred, research was done, lawsuits were filed, but still, these accusations are spoken of as fact by President Trump and other Republican lawmakers. After looking at a few recent polls, roughly 60-70% of Republican voters still think that the 2020 election was rigged.

The denial of truth doesn’t stop there. The head of the Department of Health, Robert F. Kennedy, seems to switch whether he thinks vaccines work or cause autism daily. Recently, he has been not only vocal about his distrust of the COVID vaccine but has put this doubt into action by limiting COVID vaccines to those who meet certain qualifications or those who consult with their doctors first. RFK also cut $500 million of funding to continue mRNA vaccine research. In fact, his rhetoric has led to Florida planning to no longer require any sort of vaccination in schools.

President Trump has also fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics due to results he didn’t like. He has lied about the Epstein files, denies Pete Hegseth’s Signal leak, has lied about the crime rate in DC, and more.

Truth is no longer truth, but President Trump’s approval rating among Republicans is souring. Half the country no longer trusts science, third-party institutions, courts, special committee investigations, or voting; instead, they trust one man.

The United States can no longer work like this. Democracy can only function when everyone who participates acknowledges the truth and has trust in the system. Yes, it is okay to question it, but it is not okay to disregard the truth.

We are at a scary moment in American history. Political division is at an all-time high, checks and balances no longer protect our government, and truth no longer matters.

The American experiment is the greatest to ever exist. Our system of government has allowed for scientific breakthroughs, saved lives, provided job opportunities, education, freedom, and so much more. We cannot let this experiment end due to misinformation and the denial of truth. We need to hold our leaders and each other accountable.

As bleak as it sounds, I don’t see a way we can continue down this path and America still succeeds. We have gotten too comfortable, too dumb, and too used to the insanity that is occurring in this country right now. Americans, including myself, seem to think that issues in our country never seem to be a big deal because for roughly 250 years the system has mostly worked. Leaders are held accountable, elections occur, and we get to keep enjoying the privileges that come with living in this country. But, in his second term, Trump has leaped over the line of being an authoritarian leader, yet half the country doesn’t seem to care. He ignores science, statistics, court orders, states’ rights, and writes his own rules and truth.

I struggle to even offer solutions to this issue. The classic answer has always been, “we need to have more conversations,” but how can we change the minds of those who only listen to Trump? Respectfully and civilly point out the hypocrisy of those who deny facts and educate those who are uneducated. Not only this, but also VOTE. If you don’t like a leader, make your voice heard at the ballot.

Democracy is dying. Not because of Russia. Not because of mail-in ballots. Not because of illegal immigration. American democracy is dying because we got too comfortable. It is dying because of lies.