Opinion: Trump’s claims of election fraud are dividing us further

The 2020 presidential election has been a disaster. Regardless of who you wanted to win, that much is clear.

It should be well over at this point, but Trump still refuses to concede, calling the election “the most corrupt election in American political history.” He did, however, tweet in support of Emily Murphy, the Administrator of the General Services Administration, who has finally facilitated the transition of presidential authority to President-elect Joe Biden.

Trump’s refusal to concede stems from his belief of widespread voter fraud due to mail in ballots. His lawyers have taken to the courts in six states including Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Michigan. Trump even has his personal lawyer, Rudy Guilliani, heading the lawsuits after the law firm Porter Wright Morris & Arthur backed out.

Luckily, judges have been sensible and have shot down the unfounded claims of voter fraud. In Arizona, three lawsuits in Maricopa County were dismissed. In Pennsylvania, Trump’s legal team’s claims have been reduced to complaints about inconsistent ballot policies across different counties.

Other claims of people using women’s maiden names to cast ballots in other states or of dead people voting have been proven false by the AP and will likely not hold water in court.

Not only were these lawsuits ridiculous in the first place, they reinforce the tensions and decisiveness among the American public. Social media then worsens this divide as misinformation is rampant and arguments get more aggressive between strangers that have no legitimate connection or respect for one another. 

This election makes it more clear than ever that polarized politics are a huge threat to our democracy. It’s a large part of how Trump was able to be elected in the first place, and has solidified his supporter base. He has been able to point at any criticism in the media as “fake news” or as a conspiracy against him, painting himself as a saint that can do no wrong.

This behavior has made Trump’s core supporters unwaveringly loyal and hostile to any outsiders. This directly contributes to the polarization of American politics and allows Trump to manipulate Americans into thinking that the voting process is riddled with voter fraud — is untrustworthy — and will have ramifications beyond this election cycle.

Not only does it lead to further polarization and division amongst Americans, it also sets a dangerous precedent — lack of accountability amongst politicians. No politician is perfect and we as Americans should recognize that and be willing to criticize them when warranted — that’s part of the foundation that our democracy was built upon.

This election cycle threatens our democracy not because of voter fraud, but because there has been a loss of faith in the democratic process. It’s not perfect (take a look at the Electoral College), but it is ours.

If fewer people trust the process, there will be fewer people voting, which diminishes the democratic foundation that America was built on.

This will also cause politicians to focus only on the people who actually vote, which will leave out disillusioned Americans. That would lead to further mistrust in the system from that populace because if politicians don’t attempt to reach out to them, why bother?

It’s very plausible that this would contribute even more to the extreme polarization in America because only those who are more passionate will vote, and these passionate voters tend to fall on the further sides of the political spectrum.

We need a strong leader who can unite us and broker lasting compromise across the political spectrum. Biden may or may not be this type of leader, but he has signaled that he is willing to work with Republicans more closely than Trump did with the Democrats. However, we should not rely on politicians alone to fix our many broken systems in America.

Lasting change will come from the populace coming together to share and listen to different perspectives with respect and empathy, working to reduce polarization.

Ella Olson is an opinion writer at the Statesman. She’s originally from Minneapolis, Minnesota and enjoys reading, debate, and hammocking.

ella.olson@usu.edu