American Elections, Political Representation, and the Will of the People

Abstract

The idea that a government’s legitimacy depends upon the consent of those governed is a central feature of most democracies. In a representative democracy, the people exercise power indirectly, through voting in elections. Consequently, elections may be regarded as the central institution of a representative democracy. In theory, elections strive to capture the will of the people and translate it into proportional political representation. Yet in practice, they often fail to do so. This paper will examine the main flaws with elections in the United States. First it will discuss issues related to disenfranchisement, which result in large segments of the population being excluded from vote and, thereby, from the democratic process. Then it will examine issues related to electoral systems themselves, such as gerrymandering and design flaws in the electoral college and first-past-the-post elections, which prevent the votes that get made from being translated into proportional influence in the government. Throughout the discussion, this paper will also identify and evaluate potential paths for reform that could resolve or mitigate these problems, improving the health of American democracy.