By Mari BAKHTAMYAN MAM-S6ENC
Edited by Julia DEC MAM-S5ENC
With alarming headlines about the United States of America piling up every month, the question of how these decisions are made arises.
Trump is on a mission to roll back the United States’ world-famous American democracy. A century ago, the US was considered the voice of reason and justice worldwide, but now? It’s the laughing stock of the world due to thoughtless claims made by their president. The most recent example is of Harvard. Trump claimed that Harvard college will no longer harbour non-US citizens: foreigners either had to switch universities or their visas would be revoked. Fortunately, this claim did not hold and foreign students continue to study at Harvard. This is one of the president’s reckless decisions. Countless endeavours such as mass deportations, removal of US embassies, spreading “facts” about Mexicans based on pseudoscience, leaving WHO, cutting back on USAID (humanitarian aid for other countries), empty promises of a better economy, massive tariffs without any thought behind them… So is this the volition of the people or the doing of one selfish man? How does the vote of the American translate into actual decisions?
First of all, what is democracy? It’s part of our daily vocabulary and everybody uses it, but what does it actually mean? Simply put, democracy is a system of government which is directly or indirectly ruled by the people. The 2 key principles of democracy are autonomy and equality – which sounds good in theory, but might not be true in fruition. In 5th century BCE ancient Greece, democracy was direct, as in a portion of men (since women, children, and slaves were excluded) would get together, discuss, and engage directly in politics.
However, currently, democracy has taken on a different form. Though there are many different models, they all have one key thing in common which sets modern democracy apart from ancient Greek democracy: politics is done indirectly through representatives. This makes sense, since the number of eligible voters in ancient Greece was 300,000, with 50,000 men who actually participated. Currently, this number has reached a whopping 168 million eligible voters in the U.S., with around 159 million actually participating in the 2020 presidential election. The scale has changed dramatically, and so have the dynamics. But has the US stirred far from its democratic ideals?
The Electoral College: One Person, One Vote?
Despite being a democracy, the United States does not elect its president through a simple popular vote. Instead, it uses the Electoral College system. Each state is allocated a number of electors roughly proportional to its population. Most states use a “winner-takes-all” approach: whichever candidate wins the most votes in that state gets all its electoral votes.
This means a candidate can lose the national popular vote but still win the presidency by securing key states—exactly what happened in 2000, and again in 2016. The system gives outsized power to swing states, while rendering many votes in reliably red or blue states effectively meaningless. Is that democratic?
Voter Suppression and Access
The U.S. also struggles with unequal access to the ballot box. In some states, strict voter ID laws, limited polling places, and voter roll purges disproportionately affect minorities, the elderly, and low-income communities. While these laws are often justified as measures to prevent fraud, studies have shown that voter fraud is extremely rare, yet these policies systematically disenfranchise vulnerable populations.
On top of that, Election Day is not a national holiday, and most people are expected to vote on a Tuesday—during working hours. This adds a layer of difficulty for hourly workers, parents, or people in rural areas who can’t afford to wait in line for hours.
Gerrymandering: Politicians Pick Voters
Another key issue is gerrymandering, where electoral district boundaries are drawn to favour one party over another. This practice allows politicians to choose their voters instead of the other way around. As a result, some congressional districts are almost impossible for the opposing party to win, which distorts representation in the House, and leads to less competitive elections and less representation.
Money in Politics
Lastly, it’s hard to ignore the role of money. Following the Citizens United Supreme Court decision in 2010, corporations and interest groups can spend unlimited amounts of money to influence elections, so long as it’s technically “independent” of a candidate. This gives wealthy donors and lobbyists enormous influence over who gets elected and what policies are prioritized. Elon Musk is one of the richest men in the world and the sponsor of Trump. He spent $277 million to back Trump and the Republicans. Obviously, this amount of money dramatically affects how many people vote for a party: this money pays for rallies, publicity, salaries, etc.
In theory, the U.S. is a democracy. In practice, however, the way votes are counted, the way districts are drawn, and the way campaigns are funded all reveal deep flaws within the system. Are the people still in control of their own country, or is the United States of America too far gone to return?