By definition, democracy depends on voting, and contrary to the lies and myths conjured to prevent we the people from voting, democracy works better when more people vote — always.

Before addressing some of those crimes against democracy, every citizen 18 years old and older should know voting is not just a privilege and not just a right — it is a civic duty and obligation as an American to vote in every local and general election.

The only requirement to vote is to register. In Michigan, the registration deadline for this election is 30 days before the election, which makes Oct. 9 the deadline. That is one week from today.

Michigan Tech and Finlandia students do not have to go back to their permanent or home address to vote. Students attending college can register at their campus address.

Every resident can register by mail or in person by submitting an application (Form ED-121) to the state or city or township clerk. Registration is available at any local secretary of state branch office.

It is also the civic duty of every citizen to promote voting for everyone, to counter those true enemies of the people who either actively suppress voting or choose to be willfully ignorant of the lies and myths they perpetuate.

These are presented in a number of different ways, but the basic lie is there is voter fraud in American elections. This is a flat-out, naked, repeatedly debunked lie that has been proven time and time again. These stories about fraud amount to either zero or a few cases per hundreds of millions of votes cast, to wit:

•A 2014 study published in The Washington Post found 31 credible instances of impersonation fraud from 2000-14, out of more than 1 billion ballots cast. Even this tiny number is likely inflated, as the study’s author counted not just prosecutions or convictions but any and all credible claims.

•Two studies done at Arizona State University found negligible rates of impersonation fraud: 10 cases of voter impersonation fraud nationwide from 2000-12, out of slightly less than a billion votes cast, and zero convictions for impersonation fraud in five states from 2012-16.

•A review of the 2016 election found four documented cases of voter fraud.

•The likely percentage of non-citizen voters in recent U.S. elections is 0.2014, according to an analysis by Cooperative Congressional Election Study

•The U.S. District Court’s Fifth Circuit, in an opinion finding that Texas’s strict photo ID law is racially discriminatory, noted two convictions for in-person voter impersonation fraud out of 20 million votes cast in the decade before Texas passed the law.

•In its opinion striking down North Carolina’s election law as purposefully racially discriminatory, the Fourth Circuit noted the state “failed to identify even a single individual who has ever been charged with committing in-person voter fraud.”

•Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a champion of voter suppression, argued before state lawmakers his office needed special power to prosecute voter fraud, because he knew of 100 such cases in his state. After being granted these powers, he brought six cases, of which only four have been successful. The secretary also testified about his review of 84 million votes cast in 22 states, which yielded 14 instances of fraud referred for prosecution, which amounts to a 0.00000017 percent fraud rate.

•Court filings by the now-defunct Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, formed by President Trump with Kobach leading it, show the panel didn’t uncover any evidence of fraudulent voting during its 11 months in operation. The commission “did not create any preliminary findings,” the filings stated.

One reason Michigan citizens should vote on Nov. 6 is a referendum is proposed to promote more voting and a better democracy by allowing Election Day registration. Oh no, say democracy’s foes — this will lead to more voter fraud. We refer you to the preceding evidence. Beware of this fifth column –those who want to suppress your vote.