By Grace Vuoto
Since President Joe Biden assumed office in January 2021, there is an ever-widening gulf between Democrats and Republicans regarding the security of our elections. A recent Gallup survey, published Sept. 25, reveals there is a record-high divide on this topic among party members: only 28 percent of Republicans state that our elections are accurate versus 84 percent of Democrats who believe the process is reliable.
Despite the mainstream media branding any doubt of Biden’s legitimacy as “The Big Lie,” the greatest proponent of the 2020 election steal theory, former President Donald Trump, won the Republican nomination easily, without renouncing his convictions. Among Republicans, chatter about election theft is pervasive. The recent survey finds that 74 percent of Republicans are mostly concerned that fraudulent means are being used to vote and that ineligible voters are casting ballots. By contrast, only 21 percent of Democrats are convinced there is voter fraud and even less, 14 percent, state that ineligible voters are participating in our elections.
Due to the fact that Democrats believe the system works, their greatest concern is that defeated candidates will not concede their loss. By a whopping margin of 75 percent, Democrats worry that losers will refuse to bow out graciously. Only 25 percent of Republicans express this fear. Since the majority of GOP members do not believe the system works fairly, it follows that they regard a candidate who does not concede as a hero, not a villain—as one who is justly fighting for the truth within a corrupt process.
Hence, the 2024 election contains an epic and dangerous clash of worldviews: If Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris wins, the majority of Republican voters will be suspicious of the results. They will encourage Trump to contest the election. And Democrats will see any challenge to the results as a “threat to democracy,” as an unwillingness to play by the rules and accept a loss.
On the other hand, if Trump wins, Republicans will hail this as a victory against all the odds—a triumph of the “too big to steal” mantra, Trump’s campaign slogan to swamp the polls and overcome fraudulent voting. Yet, Democrats will declare that Trump, the very embodiment of election chaos and disinformation, poses a mortal threat to the republic once he assumes office.
There is now a colossal breakdown of trust. Democrats have done little to assuage any of the legitimate Republican fears. In July, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) spearheaded the passage of the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, requiring all voters to show proof of citizenship with a valid government I.D. in order to cast a ballot in federal elections. The bill passed by a margin of 221-198 with only five Democrats in support.
Biden immediately released a statement expressing disapproval of the SAVE Act. “This would make it much harder for all eligible Americans to register to vote and increase the risk that eligible voters are purged from voter rolls,” he stated. He expressed his conviction that noncitizen voting is “extraordinarily rare” and vowed to veto the bill if it ever makes it to his desk.
Thus, Biden failed to respond to a critical need, among the electorate in the opposing party, to provide clarity and reassurance. He and the Democrats have been dismissive and disdainful of their fellow Republican cries for help fix the electoral system. This would bring healing and diminish the risk of turmoil once the outcome is declared in November.
Biden did not rise to the challenge; he did not transcend partisanship and behave as a true national leader. Had he listened to and been responsive to the concerns of millions of citizens, he could have helped to provide a cohesive framework to choose leaders that would strengthen the bonds between us. By failing to do so, Biden missed a critical opportunity to turn the tide away from growing mutual suspicion, fear and dread.
We are now in national free fall. Regardless of the results on Tuesday, November 5, neither Democrats nor Republicans will rest easy.
-Grace Vuoto, Ph.D. is a political commentator and columnist. She can be heard Wednesday mornings at 9:00 am on The Kuhner Report WRKO-AM 680.
-Photo courtesy of Getty Images.