America is vulnerable to electoral vandalism

Right now, nearly half of Americans believe that the next election will be rigged, regardless of who wins. We have reached the paradox that the true threat to American democracy is no longer just foreign interference or technological blackouts, but the systemic distrust of citizens in the process itself. It is often thought that elections in the United States are robust and tamper-proof, but this belief is crumbling: today, the greatest risk is that too many voters believe a priori that the result will be rigged, whatever it may be. The new argument that is emerging is this: the vulnerability lies not in computers or ballot boxes, but in the minds of voters, who are increasingly convinced that they are victims of a rigged game. Take Donald Trump: his name divides the country like few others in recent history. According to the latest forecasting models, his party faces the risk of defeat in the upcoming midterm elections. The Democrats are expected to win the House of Representatives and, defying all logic based on the electoral map, could even flip the Senate. Yet, while Democrats are smiling at the polls, there is a wake-up call: American democracy has never been so fragile. To understand how much the climate has changed, one need only look at the story of Stacey Abrams in Georgia. In 2018, she lost the gubernatorial race by a narrow margin, but refused to acknowledge her defeat, fueling the notion of a “stolen” election. Since then, this narrative has gone from the exception to the rule, with politicians on all sides ready to cry fraud as soon as the outcome does not favor them. And the numbers are frightening: according to a Pew Research Center poll, only 21% of Republican voters and 60% of Democrats are confident that the 2024 election will be “free and fair.” There is little room left for mutual trust. And this is not just paranoia: increasingly restrictive laws on who can vote, contested vote counts, and social media campaigns rife with lies have eroded the foundation of collective trust. A concrete example? In 2020, Antrim County, Michigan, became the symbol of conspiracy theories after a human error in the count, which was immediately blown out of proportion and used to cry foul of manipulation. But the most serious damage was not technical: it was psychological. When half of the electorate feels systematically excluded or deceived, the entire democratic framework falters. Yet, there is one aspect that is often overlooked: mental vulnerability is a double-edged sword. Today, the obsession with absolute security can turn into deliberate sabotage. If everyone believes that the system is corrupt, it takes very little for someone to decide to “fix” the outcome—or to sabotage it, convinced that they are acting in the name of justice. Thus, the fraud narrative risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. In short, American democracy is not only at risk of being violated from the outside; it is at risk of being vandalized from the inside, by the distrust of its own citizens. If you want to keep this idea in mind, on Lara Notes you can use I'm In — it's the gesture to say that this perspective now belongs to you. And if you feel like sharing this story with someone, Lara Notes Shared Offline lets you tag the people who were part of the conversation, so that certain exchanges aren’t lost. This was from The Economist: You saved almost five minutes compared to the original article.