The State of Our Democracy

Jai Kasera, Online Staff Writer

Typically, the losing candidate of a presidential election concedes the election to the winner. However, President Trump has not yet conceded to President-elect Biden. Instead, Trump has claimed that the election was rigged, filing several lawsuits contesting the results in key states, though there is no clear evidence that the election results were rigged. Because of these recent events regarding Trump’s comments about the supposed rigged elections, liberal establishments and newspapers have been publishing articles asserting that our democracy is at risk. However, the fact that we, including many of those in the Republican party, have denounced Trump’s claims reveals that our democracy is actually stronger than ever.

The Washington Post, for instance, has been publishing numerous articles regarding Trump and the Republican party putting our democracy at risk. Some articles include “Donald Trump’s disregard for our transition ritual threatens our democracy” and “If the losing party won’t accept defeat, democracy is dead.” These articles suggest that Trump is threatening our democracy by claiming that the election was rigged. However, Trump’s challenges have had little to no effect in court, as they have been turned down. As a federal judge in Pennsylvania wrote, judges have been unpersuaded by “strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations.” This shows the strength — instead of weakness — in our democracy, as the nation will not conform to one powerful individual’s viewpoint. 

The Trump Administration has been reported to have been asking Michigan lawmakers to appoint 16 Electoral College members who will vote for Trump despite his loss by over 100,000 votes. Similar to Trump’s attempt to challenge the validity of the elections in court, however, the Michigan lawmakers have refused to honor his request to appoint Electoral College members to vote for him. These actions further demonstrate that our democracy prevents one person from simply changing what is already established.

We should consider the recent events as a display of how strong our democracy is, rather than how our democracy is at risk. The Founding Fathers established this type of strong, central government exactly for the purpose of making sure that a dangerous minority with radical ideas does not gain power. From the recent events with Trump’s claims about the “rigged” election being denounced, it is evident that this goal of the Founding Fathers is, to an extent, fulfilled, and our democracy is safe and strong.