Trump intensifies electoral rules: fight against voting fraud or attack on democracy?

Trump intensifies electoral rules: fight against voting fraud or attack on democracy?

USA - President Donald Trump plans to significantly tighten the rules for voting in the United States. In a far -reaching arrangement, which provides several federal authorities to take more restrictive measures to register voter registration, postal voting and monitoring, presumably voting fraud should be counteracted. Despite the criticism of his approaches and the demand for more voting rights, Trump confirms his unfounded claims about a massive preliminary fraud in the 2020 presidential election against Joe Biden and has not yet recognized his defeat.

To enforce his plans, Trump relies on financial pressure: In the future, federal funds should only flow to those states that will follow the new, tightened rules. The changes intended by Trump contain stricter verification obligations for US citizenship and restrictions on postal voting, which is of crucial importance for many voters. Critics argue that the focus on the postal voting is an attack on democratic participation, especially for minorities.

complexity of the US electoral system

The US electoral system is known for its complexity. Presidents are chosen indirectly by election people, whose number is based on the population of the respective state. There are no proportional voting distributions; The majority in a state always receive all votes of the electioners. A remarkable example from the past is Hillary Clinton, which received the most direct voices in 2016, but lost the election.

The current changes and Trump's advance are sharply criticized by civil rights activists. They warn that such measures could make access to the choice for certain population groups considerably more difficult. In addition, legal disputes could occur, since civil rights organizations are planning to act against the new decree. The concern for democratic participation is great, especially in view of the already tense political Situation, which was further complicated, among other things, by the violent storm on the US capitol on January 6, 2021.

international comparisons

In the context of the desired changes, the White House, among other things, mentions countries such as Germany and Austria as role models for more reliable electoral rules, where traditionally coordinated with paper paper. In contrast, election computers and digital listing systems are used in the United States, which leads to consideration regarding the default of the election.

experts emphasize that the existing US electoral system works reliably in the core and that voting fraud is rare. According to critics, the idea of a widespread election fraud is unfounded and could endanger the integrity of the election process. It remains to be seen how the situation will develop and what legal steps will take civil rights organizations. krone and watson report on ongoing developments in this complex and important topic.