Vote While You Still Can: America’s Right to Vote Is Under Attack

When Hungarians recently turned out in record numbers to defeat authoritarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, they set a powerful example: democracy demands participation. Their turnout hit 77.8 percent — the highest ever in Hungary. Meanwhile, the United States barely cracked 65 percent in its 2024 presidential election, the highest since 1968 but still far below what it should be.

Americans have taken voting for granted — and that complacency is exactly what the Trump administration and its Republican allies have exploited. Through a combination of court rulings, state laws, and executive orders, they have launched a full-scale assault on the right to vote.

The Supreme Court’s recent decision to gut the Voting Rights Act by ruling a majority-Black district in Louisiana an unconstitutional racial gerrymander is a glaring example. This ruling paves the way for the elimination of up to 19 majority-minority districts nationwide, effectively silencing millions of Black voters. Tennessee’s new map threatens to erase Memphis’s sole majority-minority district, prompting Congressional Black Caucus Chair Yvette Clarke to warn that “not since Jim Crow” has there been such systematic disenfranchisement.

Meanwhile, voter ID laws have become a weaponized barrier. Florida’s new SAVES Act, championed by Ron DeSantis, requires proof of citizenship and restricts acceptable IDs, excluding common forms like student IDs. Other states have followed suit, imposing requirements that the Brennan Center for Justice warns could disenfranchise up to 21 million Americans, including married women whose birth certificates don’t match their current names.

Trump’s executive order mandating that all mail-in ballots be handled by the Postal Service and restricting voting to those on federally approved citizenship lists threatens to choke off a critical voting method used by nearly one-third of voters in 2024. Rural voters, in particular, face new hurdles, as the National Rural Letter Carriers Association cautions.

These moves are not just unfair; many are likely unlawful. The Constitution grants states authority over elections, and courts are already challenging Trump’s overreach. Ironically, some voter suppression laws may even backfire politically, as Democrats are statistically more likely to hold passports and other accepted IDs.

The damage extends beyond access to the ballot. Confidence in the integrity of elections is eroding rapidly. A recent PBS News/NPR/Marist poll found over a third of Americans doubt their local elections will be fair this fall — a crisis for democracy itself.

The stakes could not be higher. We are sliding toward “competitive authoritarianism,” where elections exist but are rigged enough to keep certain groups out of power. The only antidote is action: Americans must vote while they still can. Hungary’s historic turnout shows what’s possible when people refuse to be silenced. If we don’t rise to this moment, the right to vote — and the future of democracy — may slip away for good.