Go check it out. They track democracies from all over the world. It is not partisan. They do not take pundits. They track policies and statements from the officials themselves. If you do not like actual sources, then I don’t know what to tell you. American candidates for the presidency have largely been on the authoritarian right for a decade. Candidates from both parties end up very close to each other on the chart.
If you’re not going to use the term in a colloquial context while you are in a colloquial setting, then you need to cite what source you are referencing for your definition. Given that you are talking about laws, then you need to recognize that every place defines things differently according to the law. So which law, where?
Being unnecessarily argumentative and snobby while at the same time not meeting your own standards is ridiculous.