Among the most absurd election pitches ever is the Democrats’ bleak warning — pushed ceaselessly by President Joe Biden himself — that Donald Trump and his “MAGA Republicans” pose an existential threat to American democracy.

Reality check: Democracy in America has been slipping away for some time. Our problem is how to get it back.

In our federal republic form of government, a.k.a. “democracy” — as Abraham Lincoln described it, our “government of the people, by the people and for the people” — is achieved through the ballot box. We citizens choose our leaders and representatives with our votes. Without free and fair elections (as so many failed nations have proven), democracy is lost.

Democracy doesn’t die because of one event, one election, or one bad leader — we lose it bit by bit, mainly because incumbent politicians are willing to sacrifice it to retain power, and citizens don’t notice that it’s going away. In the U.S., we are now entering the third consecutive presidential election cycle undermined by major election interference, widespread public distrust of the reported election results, and unwillingness by the losing side to accept the election outcome.

In 2016, Hillary Clinton’s defeat at the hands of upstart Donald Trump unleashed a torrent of allegations that Trump’s win had been aided by collusion with Russia. That led to two and a half years of chaotic infighting, the appointment of a special counsel, an extensive investigation, nightly breathless media coverage, and simultaneous Democrat “resistance” to all Trump initiatives. When Robert Mueller’s long-awaited report finally popped that bubble, the Democrat-led House of Representatives found another excuse to impeach Trump anyway.

The concerted opposition to President Trump was in effect a sustained challenge to the legitimacy of his presidency — that is, it was an attempt to “overturn an election,” just as Trump was accused by his political opponents four years later.

The 2020 election was a hot mess through and through. Although Democrats continue to assert that the election was “fair and transparent,” it was marred by irregularities (information suppression, greatly extended and insecure mail-in voting). It produced a highly improbable (some might say incredible) result — the uninspiring Joe Biden, campaigning from his Delaware basement, somehow copped more votes than any presidential candidate in history. Many remain skeptical, even today.

That became Trump’s turn to blow a gasket, leading ultimately to the January 6 Capitol riot and all that followed. The continuing furor over 2020 and Trump’s allegedly “Big Lie” set the stage for our current presidential election cycle.

The 2024 election has been contaminated by a staggering level of election interference. With former President Trump emerging as the leading GOP candidate, his Democrat opponents have leveled a barrage of criminal and civil legal actions against him — so far yielding four indictments, 91 felony charges, and half a billion dollars of civil penalties — obviously intended to cripple him financially, professionally, and politically. Meanwhile, Republicans are leveling their own big guns at Biden, holding impeachment hearings in the House. And the election is still eight months away.

In short, we’ve already reached an unacceptable level of election dysfunction, straining our democracy to the limit. Absent fundamental changes in partisan political behavior, we may never see another presidential election that is not tainted by weaponized legal actions by the incumbent administration targeting political opponents, or violent post-election protests, or, worst of all, low public confidence in election results.

And we should be worried about what MIGHT happen to democracy if Trump is elected?

So, what now? How do we get our democracy back? Our 2024 election problems are baked in already, but there are a few encouraging signs and some obvious actions needed:

• The voting public must make clear to our elected officials that we do not tolerate election interference. That message may be coming across already — the blitz of legal actions against the former president seems to be boosting, not harming, his election prospects. And this week’s 9-0 Supreme Court reversal of Colorado’s effort to remove Trump from its ballot underscores the constitutional principle that presidents should be selected by voters, not by unelected judges.

• I remain convinced that the best long-term outcome for the nation would be a clean slate of 2024 presidential candidates who are better suited for the job ahead and unencumbered by the obstacles already thrown in Trump’s and Biden’s way. There is a growing possibility that Biden, facing concerns about his age and sinking approval ratings, may step aside. In that case, Trump could follow suit — but Trump being Trump, he probably will not. Time will tell.

• The next administration — with strong public support fueled by dissatisfaction over our clearly dysfunctional recent elections — must put in place national voting reform legislation, with primary emphasis on voting security. Wide-open, super-easy mail-in voting is a convenience welcomed by many voters, but it opens the barn doors to fraud and abuse. Before both parties become adept at using (and abusing) the mail-in voting process for their own gains, we’d best tighten the screws on security.

If we are serious about keeping our American democracy, we must find a way to hold free and fair elections.