The Faltering US Voting System Unveils The Illusion Of Democracy [Op-Ed]

In the past, political cynics and those who abstained from voting may have had a point — albeit a weak one. Today, however, their stance isn’t just one of apathy; it reveals a troubling form of narcissism.

The belief that this country was founded on the principles of freedom through enfranchisement has always been a myth, given that America has always participated in disenfranchising its own citizens.  

Depending on when you read this, you may find yourself in a world either without mail-in ballot restrictions or one that has just come to terms with them. Recently, the Trump administration petitioned the Supreme Court—for the third time—to give the United States Postal Service some control over mail-in voting for the upcoming midterm elections. The request came just days after a federal judge, not a local one, blocked the Postal Service from doing it.

Whether it be judicial rulings, basic decorum, or disappointing election results, the President of the United States has once again proven he doesn’t believe the rules apply to him.

The order that was issued by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani halted the postal service from possibly rejecting ballots from voters who aren’t in the federal database. 

“Immediate implementation of the Final Rule issued less than seventy days before the November 2026 election threatens disenfranchisement of millions of United States citizens who seek to vote by mail,” read the order. 

Lately, we’ve seen the steps of marginalization that Judge Talwani warned of already taking place. According to a recent report from the Associated Press, “the number of ballots rejected for late postmarks has soared in the vote-by-mail states of Washington and Oregon, according to newly released data highlighting concerns about recent changes in U.S. Postal Service operations ahead of this fall’s pivotal midterm election.”

In case you forgot, before losing the 2020 Presidential Election, Trump began condemning mail-in voting, despite voting by mail in the primaries that year. According to CBS News, “Sixty-nine percent of voters nationwide cast their ballot either by mail or voted early in the 2020 election, making it the highest rate of nontraditional voting in a presidential election.” 

Four years later, after winning the 2024 Presidential Election, Trump changed his tune. “ABSENTEE VOTING, EARLY VOTING, AND ELECTION DAY VOTING ARE ALL GOOD OPTIONS. REPUBLICANS MUST MAKE A PLAN, REGISTER, AND VOTE!” he declared on social media at the time. And now, with his approval ratings in the trash and prominent members of his party trying to distance themselves from their leader just weeks before a critical election, Trump and his administration are trying to neutralize the way that millions of Americans cast their ballots, despite having no issue with taking part in the act.

“Yeah, I did,” Trump arrogantly said back in August when asked why he took part in the process that he’s currently trying to destroy. “Because of the fact that I’m President of the United States, I did a mail-in ballot for elections that took place in Florida, because I felt that I should be here (the White House) instead of the beautiful sunshine.”

This man’s hypocrisy knows no bounds.

“Donald Trump votes by mail but doesn’t want you to. If it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for us,” tweeted former Vice President Kamala Harris all the way back in 2020, as she once again accurately predicted Trump’s erratic behavior before it became evident to the public.

The irony of Harris’ comment remains relevant six years later. She is part of a demographic that has historically faced the most discrimination — Black women. When the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, granting women the right to vote, Black women were still excluded. Just months after the Voting Rights Act was gutted, this regime is attempting to destroy the system at a moment in which it feels like they understand that they’re losing the reins of power.

What many may be overlooking is how far the illusion of democracy is being dismantled. So much of that depends on who you are, because for so many of us, having a say in who gets elected has come with additional hurdles, followed by choosing the lesser of two evils.

What we’re currently experiencing is just the latest chapter in the long history of American voter suppression — given that the first people who were allowed to vote were limited to white men who owned land. That was followed by the creation of the Electoral College, which stripped the popular vote of power in presidential elections. Then came the Suffrage Movement, and the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, which gave women and Black people the right to cast ballots, respectively.

Every group has had to struggle for their right to vote, except for one. This country has never truly been a democracy — it has operated as a quorum.

No one has ever experienced an actual democracy in America besides a select group of white men, which, ironically, is the foundation of white male privilege and white male mediocrity.

Last fall, a Georgia judge shut down the last criminal prosecution Trump faced for attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Audio evidence of a sitting president trying to bully an elected official into helping him “find 11,780 votes” because he’s a sore loser didn’t matter. That decision wasn’t just a deathblow to accountability; it was evidence that the corruption of democracy — even by the president — carries no consequence.

Despite America’s horrid past, or the current misery we’re living through, one thing has always remained true — the ideal of this country being a democracy is more fiction than fact. Elections have consequences, regardless of who gets to cast a ballot. It’s why voting isn’t just important; it’s existential.

Carron J. Phillips is an award-winning journalist who writes on race, culture, social issues, politics, and sports. He hails from Saginaw, Michigan, and is a graduate of Morehouse College and Syracuse University. Follow his Substack to keep up with more of his work.

SEE ALSO:

Florida Politics Embody How Black People Are Not A Monolith [Op-Ed]

Tuskegee’s Dress Code And The Deliberate Blindness Of Decorum