Trump's 'won't have to vote' remarks threaten our elections

When a candidate for office says that his goal is to fix things "so you don't have to vote again," the alarm bells are sure to start ringing loudly in most people's heads.

A quick clarification to quell fears about voting rights is in order, you'd think. This should include reassuring the public that they support our election system and will vigorously protect every citizen's right to cast their ballot.

It's been days since presidential candidate Donald Trump made his controversial “won’t have to vote again” remarks to supporters on Friday — and instead of clarification and reassurance, Americans have heard little more than crickets from his campaign.

Following his speech at an event in Florida, a spokesperson who was asked to clarify the remarks said only that Trump "was talking about uniting this country and bringing prosperity to every American, as opposed to the divisive political environment that has sowed so much division and even resulted in an assassination attempt.”

So, ensuring prosperity for everyone means "fixing things" so no one has to — or worse, can't — exercise their right to vote?

Judging by the crush of letters to the editor we've received, plenty of our readers are alarmed and worried, fearful that Trump was hinting at ending presidential elections beyond 2024. "Trump is now telling us, in advance, that he plans to 'fix' things so that voting will no longer be necessary in the future," reader Bob Chimis of Elmwood Park wrote, adding, "The implications are beyond chilling."

Fair, honest elections are a cornerstone of democracy. They separate the U.S. from dictatorships and autocracies. At a time when 72% of Americans believe the nation is no longer a good democratic model for the rest of the world, leaders must be held to the highest standards for safeguarding our rights and institutions.

Trump being Trump?

For those who haven't heard or read the remarks: Trump, speaking to an audience at the Believers Summit in West Palm Beach, urged supporters to "get out and vote, just this time. You won't have to do it anymore. Four more years, you know what, it will be fixed, it will be fine, you won't have to vote anymore."

He added: "I love you, get out, you gotta get out and vote. In four years, you don't have to vote again, we'll have it fixed so good you're not going to have to vote."

Given the thousands of misleading or false statements Trump has made over the years, some people might brush aside these latest remarks as mere exaggeration, just "Trump being Trump." Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said on Sunday that Trump was “obviously making a joke about how bad things had been under Joe Biden, and how good they’ll be if we send President Trump back to the White House so we can turn the country around."

If so, Trump has had ample opportunity to clarify on his own — and hasn't. Excuses about jokes won't cut it, especially when Trump has continued to insist that he won the 2020 election and refused to say that he will accept the results in 2024.

There's a larger lesson here as well: Candidates at all levels of government, from city councils and county boards to state lawmakers to members of Congress — and above all, the presidency — should make it crystal-clear to the public that they will live up to the oath many of them take to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution and our rights.

As for voting, America continues to lag behind too many other countries on voter turnout. In 2020, our country posted its highest election turnout in years, at 62.8% of the voting age population. Yet in countries as varied as Uruguay, Belgium, Hungary, South Korea and elsewhere, turnout is routinely at 70% and higher.

"Fixing things," we think, should include steps to boost civic participation and voter turnout, with potential reforms such as bolstering access to mail-in voting, ensuring that polling places remain open and operational in lower-income and rural areas; and ensuring the safety of election workers and officials, who have often been the target of violent threats.

It's called shoring up democracy, not undermining it.

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