An “I Voted” sticker is seen as a badge of honor. A symbol of one’s dedication to their country and its future leaders. A sign that someone has actively participated in their democracy. Voting is essential to us as Americans.

Voting is the backbone of any liberal democracy. This may seem like an obvious component of American democracy; something awarded in the most sacred American document: the United States Constitution. According to Ozan O. Varol, one of the four necessary components of a democracy is “free, fair, and competitive elections.” However, the ability to cast a vote doesn’t guarantee it will be a free, fair, and competitive one.

In the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential loss in 2020 to President Joe Biden, the rhetoric around fake, stolen, and unfair elections has skyrocketed. There were doubts amongst the Republican party if Joe Biden had even won the election. The spread of misinformation engulfed the media. Panic was incited in Americans; for the first time, the American population had to worry if the electoral process was just.

Given the nature of federalism in the United States, each state has adopted different laws regarding how and where to vote. By utilizing stealth authoritarianism, Trump instilled fear within the American population, implying that our electoral process is corrupt, leading to changes in state election laws.

Stealth authoritarianism is a concept introduced by Ozan O. Varol. Democratic erosion is the diminishing of a country’s democratic process, which can be seen in various ways. This type of democratic erosion is legal and happens gradually over time, which makes actions harder to detect and therefore eliminate. For stealth authoritarians, there are key mechanisms used to allow these changes to happen discretely and legally. One mechanism to accomplish democratic erosion is by changing election laws. Eroding a country’s elections can be legal, however, the consequences are catastrophic. Altering a country’s elections can happen in many ways. However, restricting and/or altering the abilities or means of voting so that there is a favorable outcome for a candidate or party is an example of this mechanism.

After 2020, the American people wanted change. The words of warning from Trump translated into the American voter insisting on changes to our voting process, such as increasing surveillance of the polling process and limiting voting options. After the aftermath of the 2020 election, over twenty states have proposed election reform statuses to give their constituents a piece of mind while voting.

While not every reform was enacted, the sheer magnitude of change demanded was stifling. The American public had lost faith in their system of governance. American people no longer trusted that the winners of their elections were a direct reflection of the wants of the American people.

Altering any sort of voting laws can have adverse consequences. However, typically voting reforms that restrict voting favor Republicans. The type of reforms coming out of the 2020 elections were restrictive in nature. Trump’s words lead to reforms. Reforms that would give an advantage to his political party.

Moreover, Donald Trump used the threat of unfair and unsafe elections to merit these changes. By claiming the 2020 presidential election was stolen, Trump engraved into the minds of the American people that their vote isn’t as fair and free as our country proclaims. This opened the door for sweeping reform and gave credibility to the laws that already existed.

Even though these reforms limited the freedom of elections, the American people continued to support these laws. This allows Republican voters to feel more at peace, pushing them to the polls, and making it harder for the Democratic voters of certain demographics to cast their vote.

Through Trump infuriating the public sphere, he is allowing the actions of many state governments to feel warranted. These restrictions on voting – our constitutional right – don’t necessarily lead to free and fair elections; there are so many institutional steps that exist in our voting process that ensure the legitimacy of these elections.

The underlying motivation behind these actions isn’t obvious to the American public. However, the American public accepts these restrictions because leaders such as Donald Trump commend that they’re necessary. The use of fear and confusion by Donald Trump and other Republican leaders gives legitimacy to these measures. This has led to an erosion of our election laws, which the American public accepts with open arms.

Trump didn’t create these laws. However, he plays the role of the credible leader saying that voting laws that hurt American voters are necessary. Trump is using his words to allow elections to be stricter. This propaganda-fueled narrative gave his voting base more faith and more of a reason to bring him into office. As of now, these reforms are surface-level, but they show the true magnitude of a leader’s word. The “I Voted” sticker used to bring about patriotism and pride; now it leads to confusion and disbelief.