I'm wrapping up my series on voting today. There were a number of articles I wanted to include that didn't fit in well with the posts I had:
If you're looking for more information on voting in general, Wikipedia has a series of articles.
Rationales behind US mixed republic / federalism & separation of powers
The voting system is complex, and there are many ways in can go wrong. Either the will of the people can be subverted, or people can be misled into voting for immoral or counterproductive policies. I've tried to show how the system is supposed to work, and how it can fail. I've tried to address the dominant issues connected to voting.
I've also tried to outline things that you can do to protect yourself and your neighbors:
Public education and a robust press help to ensure people are well-protected against demagoguery and misinformation. YOU can do research and support broad, high-quality educational & journalistic efforts.
Complaints of voter impersonation / voter fraud are usually overblown and used to scapegoat poor and minority citizens. YOU can combat such efforts by broadening the electorate and resisting calls for additional constraints that also disenfranchise the poor & vulnerable.
Electoral districts are drawn to help incumbent political parties. YOU can advocate for more transparency in this process.
Candidates must compromise between many competing interests, some of which are not obvious to voters. YOU can become more involved in primaries and demand both transparency and accountability.
The government sets laws and provides the infrastructure & security which support private businesses. That's a lot of power. Don't squander it, and don't leave it to be claimed by those who will use it to enrich themselves at the public's expense. Get involved. Read. Contact your representatives. Vote.
This is the conclusion of my series on voting in the US. The links among the previous set of bullet points reference specific articles in the series. You can also read the introduction and overview here.
