Despite losing the popular vote by millions, Trump tried to steal the election in 2020. He has never stopped repeating that the 2020 elections were stolen from him, and the impact of his lies is shown in the fact that 66% of Republicans agree with him. With a firm grip on the GOP, Trump has been carefully laying the groundwork for 2024. 

In 2020 Trump tried to convene fake electoral college electors in 7 states. His campaign filed legal challenges to overturn the results in 10 states, all of which were thrown out of court. He forced two separate recounts each in Georgia and Wisconsin, which found no wrongdoing.

Over a hundred retired military officials, dozens of Republican legislators, and VP Mike Pence abandoned Trump, but he still fought to overturn the election. On January 6th, Trump rallied his die-hard supporters to “Stop the Steal” taking place in the Capitol, and oversaw what became a deadly riot spearheaded by far-right insurrectionists.

Trump and the GOP have opened the door to vigilante violence designed to intimidate voters. They are encouraging individuals to monitor polling stations, and have gained ground with conspiracy theories about undocumented immigrants secretly voting.

We need to lay the groundwork for mass mobilizations to stop Trump from stealing the election. This includes massive street protests, but also the threat of strikes and occupations to actually shut things down. The labor movement can play a key role reducing the threat of vigilante violence at the polls and counting locations. 

But in no way does defending democratic rights mean supporting corporate politicians like Kamala Harris. Socialist Alternative organizes against both corporate, war-mongering parties and is calling for a protest vote for Green Party candidate Jill Stein in the election, against both Trump and Harris. 

A movement to stop Trump from stealing the election would need to go beyond just defending the right to democratic elections and should raise its own independent demands to improve the lives of workers, immigrants and young people.

Crisis Of Legitimacy

A Pew poll found that only 19% of Americans agree that “America is a good democracy for other countries to follow.” There are understandable reasons most Americans don’t have confidence in elections. For many of us it feels like we’re asked to choose between bad and worse every few years while the world gets more and more nightmarish.

The Democratic Party is happy to run on a platform of “saving democracy,” playing on very real fears around the far right and Project 2025. They use this to distract from the fact that they’re not fighting for meaningful change like Medicare for All and a higher minimum wage, which would anger their corporate backers. 

The Democrats’ lack of action on the key issues facing working class people opens the doors to the dangers of Trump and his right wing agenda. The real threat to democracy isn’t just from a Trump presidency, but his right-wing base that has strengthened over the last four years. 

With this hardened and more organized base, Trump would have room to attack labor unions, increase repression of protests, and push through right wing legislation undemocratically. But the Democratic Party is more interested in using “democracy” to win elections than actually fighting to save democratic rights.

The Limits Of US Democracy

The electoral college is an antiquated system that was designed to protect the interests of the southern slaveholders and northern merchants who authored the constitution. The last Republican to win the popular vote was George W. Bush in 2004. Before that, millions watched as the Democrats conceded the election to Republicans, despite winning the popular vote in 2000.

Many people don’t vote at all because they’ve heard politicians make big promises, but things never change. Despite voter record turnout in 2020 of 66%, if people who didn’t vote were measured as a vote of no confidence, neither corporate party would have been able to win a majority.

Many more US citizens can’t vote at all, even though they still fully participate in society, pay taxes, etc. Around 4.4 million Americans, disproportionately working-class and Black, are disenfranchised from voting because of past felony convictions. This amounts to 2% of the voting-age population, a decisive margin in any swing state.

Despite these limits, defending the right to vote is a crucial tool to fight for broader demands. The Civil Rights movement developed as a fight against attacks on democratic rights against Black people, but broadened into a wider critique of war, inequality and even capitalism itself.

Defend The Vote

The 2024 elections won’t have the same features as 2020. First of all, Biden will be in the White House until the inauguration. With control over the FBI and CIA, the Democrats will have more than enough time to prepare for far-right provocations. However, in many swing states Republicans have majorities and therefore control over the electoral system, which could help Trump. Furthermore, the far-right has been growing and getting bolder under Biden.

Working people should have no confidence in the Democratic Party or the capitalist class to protect democratic rights. These are the same people who defend undemocratic institutions like the electoral college and repress non-violent protests. When threatened, the ruling class is prepared to defend foreign dictators, bankroll coups, and even assassinate activists like 21-year-old Black Panther leader Fred Hampton.

First and foremost, we need to start preparing now for mass protests to show opposition to Trump stealing the election. These protests need to be linked to the threat of shutting down business-as-usual for the political establishment. In 2017, mass protests and airport occupations stopped Trump’s racist Muslim ban. In 2019, the threat of strikes at airports ended Trump’s government shutdown.

The labor movement should play a decisive role in these protests. There should be open and democratic discussions in every union about how the labor movement should approach the elections, and what can be done to defend the vote. This could provide a platform for genuine debate and discussion away from polarizing algorithms on social media and divisive pundits on TV.

In addition, unions can mobilize members to be poll watchers, and potentially non-violently intervene if vigilantes try to intimidate voters. Unions can prepare to mobilize members to protect counting locations and post offices to avoid a repeat of the Republican-backed “Brooks Brothers” riot at a Florida county office where a recount was happening during the contested 2000 election.

Mass mobilizations and coordinated actions can isolate far-right elements and stop vigilante violence in ways the capitalist state isn’t willing to.

The movement should also call for a new working class party that fights unapologetically for working-class demands like a massive increase in wages to address inflation, taxing billionaires to fund gender-affirming Medicare for All, and a high-paying green jobs program to transition off fossil fuels. 

Stop Trumpism

Trump’s right-populism is here to stay as long as establishment politicians can’t address the crises of capitalism. Trump has also inspired copycats around the world, such as Bolsonaro in Brazil, whose claims about his stolen election inspired a similar mob to storm the capitol there. These right-populists with authoritarian tendencies feed on the lack of credibility of capitalism and its democratic institutions.

Billionaires and corporations will only defend democracy if it makes them richer; these same people are bankrolling politicians like Trump—and Harris. The way to defend (and expand) democracy while also opposing capitalism is to fight for socialism. Not only is this the only way to end the threat of Trumpism once and for all, but it would give working class people direct democratic control over society’s resources to improve life for people and the planet.