“The deliberations of the Constitutional Convention of 1787 were held in strict secrecy. Consequently, anxious citizens gathered outside Independence Hall when the proceedings ended in order to learn what had been produced behind closed doors. The answer was provided immediately. A Mrs. Powel of Philadelphia asked Benjamin Franklin, ‘Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?’ With no hesitation whatsoever, Franklin responded, ‘A republic, if you can keep it.’ “
The Declaration of Independence was a declaration on behalf of a nation of people; it was not a attestation of individualism or an affirmation of individual rights taking precedence over the rights of the whole. The declaration of the rights which accrue naturally to every individual person was the stated foundation upon which a whole people rightly establish a just government to collectively protect those rights.
A Republic is a representative government, a participatory form of government that holds that the government’s source of authority is the people, and its power is not legitimate if it disregards the will of the people. This concept, popular sovereignty was asserted as a founding principle of the United States of America, and the Declaration of Independence of 1776 asserts that legitimate governments are those ‘‘deriving their just Powers from the Consent of the Governed.” The significance of the concept, "consent of the governed" is that it is a concept that applies to the whole nation, not just a few, and
refers as well to each individual member of that nation. It is only when the people come together and make decisions as a whole, with the decision of the majority taking precedence, that the "consent of the governed," has been obtained. And this process of decision making by the majority is the basic principle that is indispensable to the establishment of a nation based on equal rights. It is truly the people who are the guardians of the Constitution and the rights it guarantees.
The “consent of the governed” is most significantly expressed by the people through their vote. Their vote consents to which candidate is going to represent them in Congress, who is going to speak for them. Their vote, through their choice of voting via a political party affiliation, also voices their consent to or vote for a type of government, a whole host of laws and regulations that affect the very quality of life we have in this country, that they are authorizing the candidate, if elected, to work towards. Laws and regulations about healthcare, taxes, wages, business, safety, transportation, equality, and many more things.
Voting is also clearly a protection provided to us. James Madison points out in the Federalist Papers (#44) that if the national government were to overextend its authority and do that which is unnecessary or improper, the people can “annul the acts of the usurpers” through the “election of more faithful representatives.” Through their vote, people hold their representatives in government to be accountable to them. This is further emphasized by the fact that both the Senate and the House operate on the premise that violations of “ethical norms” and principles of ethical behavior by a member, are to be enforced, principally, at the ballot box by the member's constituents who choose their representatives in Congress. They rely on the ballot box to hold them accountable.
However, just the fact that “some” people vote does not suffice to make this a “representative” government or a democracy; does not suffice to determine what the majority rule is. “Majority rule” is not determined by what the majority of the minority consent to, or vote for.
The U.S. Voter Election Project has collected the historical voter turnout rates for the years 1789-2012, compete with data on the Presidential year elections and the Mid-term elections. The highest voter turnout in a Presidential election year was 82.6% and that occurred in 1878. The lowest turnout in a Presidential election was 6.3% in 1792. In the Mid-term Elections, the highest voter turnout was 71.4% in 1866, and the lowest was 21.6% in 1789.
But there was another noticeable factor in this data. While there has been a voter turnout of a “simple majority” in the Primary Elections for most years, and consistently since 1928, there has not been a voter turnout of a “simple majority” in the Mid-Term Elections since 1910. That is 101 years. 101 years.
For the last 101 years, through the Mid-term elections, we have allowed the minority of people in this country to determine the outcomes of elections and all decisions that are the natural consequence of that election: Not just who is going to represent the people, collectively, in Congress, but also the type of government purportedly consented to collectively, by the majority, and a whole host of laws and regulations that affect the very quality of life we, collectively, have in this country. Laws and regulations about healthcare, taxes, wages, business, safety, transportation, equality, and many more things.
Most recently, in the November 2014 Midterm Election, just 35.9% of the voters turned out. One political party received the votes of roughly 18% of the voters in America (the political party candidates received roughly 51% of 36%) and gained the majority in both the House and the Senate, referring to it as a “mandate” and as having heard “the people’s voice.” With just 18% of the people voting for their party, and 82% of the people not voting for their party, it is hard to imagine such statements as representing anything except irrational grandiosity.
When one looks at the state-by-state voter turnout for that same 2014 Midterm election, the results are even more dire. The lowest turnout rate was 28.50%, and only 5 states managed to have 51% or above turnout rates. 5 states our of 52 states. That is 9.6% of the states.
We the People were given a powerful voice, a powerful protection and a powerful responsibility: Voting. Not only have we failed to use this voice when we were given the choice to use it, but there are those who are and have been purposely erecting barriers to others using their voice when they want to use it. This silencing has been going on for hundreds of years, and each time a barrier is removed, it is not long before a new one is constructed. The result is that we can no longer claim to be a representative form of government, and there are those that say that we are no longer a democracy.
We, as a country have lost and/or been denied our popular sovereignty and have lost and/or been denied the process of decision making by the majority. Each of these are basic principles that are indispensable to the establishment of a nation based on equal rights.
That’s why mandatory voting is on the table and currently being considered, and why I support it 100%. To protect us all. To ensure that every American citizen votes, can use their voice, and to ensure that this government is representative of us all. We cannot have a republic, a democracy, any other way.
Many of the arguments surrounding mandatory voting attempt to plead that it will not change the balance of power or the outcome of elections in any way. To argue thusly is to pander to the minority that base their opposition on the fear that they will lose power. No one can predict whether having 100% of the people voting will change the power structure or not, but it will result in the people of this country coming together and making decisions as a whole, with the decision of the true majority taking precedence. The "consent of the governed," will have been obtained. And I am not willing to allow the minority to consent to decisions that deeply impact the quality of life and values of this country as a whole.
Others argue that to require mandatory voting would be to violate their right of free speech, argue that with the right to speak comes the right to not speak. First, I would simply say that “speech” has different meaning in different contexts. Money has recently been declared to be “speech”, however few would argue that the right of free speech is violated by our having to pay taxes, which is also mandatory.
Nor do our rights protect us from responsibility, however large or small. This country has continually chosen to give the people the freedom and the choice to contribute to the quality of the lives of the people as a whole, but whenever the actions of the few endanger the rights and wellbeing of the many, it has enacted laws, created regulations, and, yes, made a thing mandatory, in order to collectively protect those rights and the wellbeing of the people.
Being required to go to a polling place on one day every two years to vote is not an onerous responsibility or an insult to your liberty. It is necessary for the survival of all that you value and admire in this county, in America.
I vote to keep our Republic.
From:Metaphysical Outlaws in America