Democracy and Elections

The American people hold in their hands the greatest power any people in history have ever possessed. Every four years it is up to them to decide who will govern the mightiest nation that ever existed. Every two years they alone decide who gets to write the laws and set the worldwide policies for that nation. Their choices affect not only themselves but reach into every corner of the globe.

Given these stakes it may seem beyond amazing that barely half of these citizens bother to exercise their power, even in the most hotly contested presidential elections. Ask people why they don't vote and you hear a familiar set of answers: "The same guys always win." "Things don't change regardless of who wins." "It's all about money." "They sound good but they don't do what they promise." "They don't care about people like me." "They're just in it for themselves." Are the people who don't vote simply foolish and lazy? Not necessarily, for there is more than a little truth to what they say. And there is much about the way our elections are set up that keeps it that way. That needs to change.

Elections lie at the heart of democracy itself. We call the United states a democracy (meaning rule by the people) because the whole people are entitled to a say in the conduct of their local, state and national business. But, except in the cases of ballot initiatives and referenda, the people do not directly pass laws, determine the budget and make all the other policy decisions a government makes. These are done by the people's representatives. That's why we are also referred to as a republic (meaning government by representatives) and thus the names of our two major political parties.

The people most effectively express their will at election time when they vote to elect the leaders who will make these decisions in their behalf. To the extent that elections are conducted according to rules that promote democracy the people's will is accurately reflected and democracy is well served. To the extent they are conducted undemocratically the people's will is ignored or thwarted, democracy is poorly served, and people become disillusioned and apathetic. The rules of the game matter. There are a number of ways in which American elections are badly designed that promote narrow, selfish interests and lead to undemocratic results. By correcting the rules we can go a long way toward restoring some real democracy and revitalizing people's faith and participation in it. We'll get better government as a result, too.

Tomorrow night I'll begin a series on American elections. The five topics I plan to cover in this series are Redistricting, Term Limits, Campaign finance, the Presidential Primary System and the Electoral College. I'll devote one post to each in turn.