I think that this is a great public forum topic: it relates to a current event that will educate students on some of the nuanc
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Lesson 4.2 Day 3
| 13NFL1-Compulsory Voting Page 29 of 163 www.victorybriefs.com on election-day. Indeed, the Harvard Law Review illustrates some of the reasons for such grave concern There are serious questions about how legitimate a government is when the vast majority of citizens have not elected it. n This concern goes beyond the question of whether or not low voter turnout affects substantive policy outcomes which is unclear n. More fundamentally, there is a serious tension with the understanding "that within our constitutional tradition, democracy is prized because of the value of collective [*595] self-governance," n which is as much about procedure as it is about substance. n Indeed, the level of voter turnout as a percentage of eligible voters in many recent elections would not even be sufficient to constitute a quorum for some of the most important American political institutions. n But the most serious questions arise not from the sheer number of citizens whose voices are not counted, n but from the fact that certain groups are underrepresented. n Partly because of disparities in turnout rates by demographic categories, the center of political gravity has shifted toward the wealthiest white Americans. n Government may not be giving adequate consideration to the priorities of the poor or of racial minorities. n I will elaborate on the racism part of that quote in a later section but essentially the above means it is completely plausible that no President has ever been a representative of the majority of the nation. As Murthy 16 explains, Democracy is meant to be the people's rule for their liberty and welfare. Democracy does not standstill like a granite building it is always evolving over a period of time, depending upon local conditions in each country. Ina modern democracy, it is ultimately the will of the people expressed through periodic elections that decide the fate of the people. In practical terms, modern democracy has come to mean government based on majority rule. The leaders acquire political power and strength because the people's power is vested in them through elections. Very often, the political masters, when they are elected to form the government, are under the deluded impression that they represent the will of the people. If voter turnout is very poor and if votes are split by too many candidates contesting a seat, the government ceases to be majority rule. In such situations, it is the minority of voters who run the government Proponents of compulsory voting would claim that at least by increasing the voter turnout, they increase the likelihood of true representation and thereby legitimacy in government. See note 1. 16 Ibid. |