Opinion: Americonian Democracy is Far from Perfect, but Still Worth Defending

by Auden Watts

“Democracy” is the biggest buzzword in Americonian society. You’ve seen it in political speeches and quotes. You’ve heard it shouted at gatherings. It’s even in the name of the news network this article was published on. The word is so deeply ingrained within our society that it has become at times synonymous with the UFA itself. The purple, orange, and green banner that represents our country has been referred to as the “Democracy flag”, and the symbol that it bears has been called the “Democracy symbol”. But is the UFA really a democracy?

The word “democracy” comes from the Greek roots demos, meaning people, and kratos, meaning rule. The word literally means “rule by the people”. Merriam-Webster defines it as “government of the people; rule by the majority”. There are two main types of democracy: direct and representative. In direct democracy, citizens vote directly on government decisions. In representative democracy, or republicanism, citizens vote for leaders who make decisions on their behalf. As of 2025, all internationally recognized democracies are representative.

So if democracy is when you vote for your leaders, then the UFA is a democracy, right? After all, we vote for our leaders, don’t we? Not so fast. It is easy for a country to be democratic in theory but undemocratic in practice. For example, citizens in countries such as the DPRK (North Korea), Turkmenistan, and Equatorial Guinea regularly vote for their leaders. However, dictators maintain power through sham elections, censorship, and the elimination of opposition candidates. 

To be clear, the UFA does not share these characteristics. While it is certainly alarming that we have had two consecutive elections with a single presidential candidate on the ballot, this is owed to the lack of interest in running for office, not a concerted effort to silence opposition. In fact, the UFA’s government has actively encouraged citizens to run for office. The constitutional provision that requires presidential candidates to have government experience also limits the number of people who are eligible.

We have a democracy in the UFA, but it is by no means a perfect one. Many voters find it difficult to vote or find information about voting. The National Organziation of Voting Assistance (NOVA) has attempted to help with this problem, but is defunct due to inactivity. The UFA has never had a high voter turnout, much of which can be attributed to apathy. In a nation of one hundred, just nineteen citizen voted in the 2025 Q3 national election. A low voter turnout means low representation. Our democracy is stronger when more citizens participate. It is important to note that the remainder of the population was not barred from voting, but chose not to anyway. The lack of presidential candidates is a contributing factor to apathy, but apathy is also a contributing factor to the lack of presidential candidates. In other words, trying to boost voter turnout is a catch-22.

One cannot discuss the flaws in Americonian democracy without mentioning electoral fraud. For the few who are unaware of the infamous incident, the 2024 Q3 election was won by Karina B. and Gabe Shelly of the Nico Party, who filed several false ballots in order to “win” the election. (This is not a controversial statement. Gabe Shelly admitted to it.) However, this was the only incident of an Americonian election being won under false pretenses, and it came at a time when the UFA was particularly vulnerable. Rampant token theft was a severe threat to the financial security of ordinary citizens, and a war with the Nico Party occurred the day before the election. Citizens were also preoccupied with their graduation and leadership changes within the United Friends School. Electoral fraud was attempted subsequently one singular time (by the Nico Party), but the fraudulent ballots were detected and removed.

Americonian democracy has plenty of issues, but it is something to be proud of. The most important part is that we have one in the first place. Micronations such as Molossia, Sealand, and Slowjamastan are ruled autocratically, or by an individual. While these countries are generally not oppressive and do not deny citizens their civil rights, they underscore how amazing it is that the UFA not only claims to be a representative democracy, but actually practices it four times a year! While many micronations are the result of one person’s endeavors, the UFA is representative of the people at large, or at least we try to be.

Our democracy is not just something to be proud of, but something we must actively work to maintain. To quote American political activist Ralph Nader, “there can be no daily democracy without daily citizenship”. Democracy is about more than voting for the president every three months. The president can only do so much. It is up to all of us. As a citizen of our nation, it is your responsibility to participate in our democracy. Run for office, write to your representatives, and above all, vote in each and every election. Our democracy will never be perfect, but each of us can do something to make it better. After all, it is not something we can afford to lose.