Democracy Countdown

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Donald Trump and the Republican Party represent an unprecedented threat to U.S. democracy. If the Democrat unified control government doesn’t pass voting and voting process protections before the 118th Congress convenes on January 3, 2023, democracy in the United States may be lost for a generation or longer.

The Threat We Face

The Presidential Election of 2020, the events of January 6th, and the Big Lie were the tremors foreshadowing previously unthinkable developments. Donald Trump and his supporters have already started shoring up where they fell short last time: changing election laws in GOP controlled states to disqualify urban votes, making it harder to vote or freedom of local authorities to allow for mail-in votes, and most of all to allow states to overrule the popular vote if voter “irregularities” are found.

Midterm Election

Democrats face an uphill battle in the 2022 midterms. Already an underdog historically coming off a Presidential election controlling the House and Senate, gerrymandering and bad underlying polling numbers indicates looming disaster. This means there is almost no chance to pass meaningful legislation from 2023 on.

Weak Points of American Democracy

Combine a hyper polarized polity, a winner take all electoral system, and declining institutional trust (among other trends) and you have a recipe for a democratic crisis. 

The Time to Act is Now

Democrats face almost insurmountable odds to keep control of the House and Senate in the upcoming 2022 midterms. Given the intractability of the swing Senate votes, Democrats should prioritize fixing the weaknesses of our electoral system where Republicans might try to tip the electoral college in Donald Trump’s favor in 2024.