Allegations of cheating and foreign influence in our recent elections abound. Many Americans suspect that elections and consent have been stolen. What has happened to “consent of the governed” ?
Our Declaration of Independence explains the importance of consent: “… all men … are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights … to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…” The first purpose of government is to secure the rights of citizens. The authority of government is derived from “consent of the governed”. Under our constitution, voters consent to be governed under laws passed by election winners. Consent means majority consent, not unanimous consent. Non-voters gave tacit consent by not participating.
Why do citizens across our political spectrum believe that consent of the governed is being undermined by cheating, rigging and outside influences? Here are examples, some of which focus on North Carolina, but similar conditions exist in many states.
Our intelligence agencies say that Russia hacked into computer systems of multiple candidates and both major political parties. The CIA concluded that they used stolen information in an attempt to manipulate our presidential election.
Disinformation has become a science used not only by Russia but also by non-governmental political interest groups. Consider clandestine videos that were expertly edited to make it appear that Planned Parenthood offered to sell aborted fetuses. The untrue charges were amplified on social media and cable news channels in ways that made them seem credible and then used in election campaigns. Allegations that Hillary Clinton was running a child-sex ring out of a Washington DC pizza parlor seemed ridiculous; but they were spread by Republican sympathizers and did affect public behavior.
North Carolina provides examples of flagrant offenses against consent of the governed. Republicans used unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud to justify new voter ID requirements. It was subsequently proven in court that the legislature unconstitutionally gave intentional preference to forms of identification that minorities are less likely to possess as compared to white voters.
By gerrymandering North Carolina’s congressional districts for partisan advantage, Republicans won ten of 13 seats (77%) with only 53% of the votes. They intended exactly that result, publicly predicted it and bragged about it. CLICK HERE to see the Republican website that explains the gerrymandering strategy with which they maintain control of the House of Representatives and state legislatures. Their manipulations result in the “consent” of Democrats and black voters having less influence on elections than the consent of Republican and white voters.
Do you wonder why some people burn American flags or refuse to stand for the nation’s anthem? The root cause of their grievances might be that “consent of the governed” has been systematically and intentionally denied through actions like those I’ve described. That same kind of grievance led to the Declaration of Independence.
There are things that we can do to correct our problems. We can make voting easier through automatic registration of eligible voters, easy access to early voting and easy access to voting by mail. We can increase confidence in our elections by maintaining a paper trail and record of every ballot so that recounts are meaningful, easy, and fast whenever they are needed. We can ban redistricting for partisan, ethnic, economic, religious or cultural advantage. We can reject negative campaigns and character assassination by supporting candidates based on their positive plans for action and their character.
First and foremost, we must elect candidates who value the consent of ALL of the governed. Changing election laws for partisan or personal advantage is immoral, unethical and unpatriotic, even if it is legal. Some who care more about winning than about the principles of self-governance believe that their causes are important enough to justify “whatever it takes to win”. Such thinking should be unacceptable to free people. Protecting “consent of the governed” is more important than any one cause.
Consent of the governed will be effective only if we voters pay careful attention and cast our votes judiciously. If we don’t care enough to do that, we will enable manipulation of our consent and we will reward leaders who divide rather than unite us. No matter how depressed or exuberant we feel about the outcome of this election, the future remains in the hands of voters if we will fully exercise the rights that we have inherited from prior generations.
CLICK HERE for expert opinion of North Carolina’s election integrity.
CLICK HERE for comparison of US election integrity to other nations.
CLICK HERE to see the nature of problems with US election integrity.
CLICK HERE to see how Republicans have used gerrymandering to dominate the southern United States
Outside dark money, gerrymandering, and lobbyists have more control over our votes than the consent of the governed. How are we to control this and how did our laws evolve to this?
It’s complicated… required Civics classes in schools, required readings in History classes, reversal of Citizens United, stricter lobbyist regulations( or doing away with lobbyists altogether), voluntary control of Fake News, strict enforcement of misinformation by newspaper and TV news outlets, changing of states’ redistricting laws, to name a few ways. The voting public needs to be more educated about important issues, not only hot news-grabbing items which are foisted on us. We have traditionally depended on our journalists and news sources for the truthful story, but it appears that we can no longer rely on them.. WE must hunt and peck for the truth now and most of us don’t have the time, energy, or wherewithal to do that. I’m open for any suggestions!
Good points Andrea and they all need attention. We also need to recognize that our right to free speech will allow a great deal of disinformation. In that environment, we need a strong investigative press with an impeccable reputation for complete and honest journalism. Without that, we’re all on our own to find truth.
Andrea, Good response. I have never appreciated partisan redistricting. It’s fault is the notion that who ever won an election should have the power to win future elections (for what ever reason). NC citizens are buying that notion because they are 1. used to it and 2. because they are dissatisfied with partisan gridlock. In 2016 Trumpism gave courage to voters struggling to regain what they were used to economically, buying houses and cars based on credit policy and a boom granting more jobs that the market would support. Had the economy not been overheated and corrupted, a steady growth rate would have satisfied workers who came out for the rebel actor from New York. Now we have a tremendous political mountain to climb to gain fairness as the “Moral Majority” care little about fairness. Only another economic or military catastrophe can arouse the television/social media dependent voters, that came out for Trump, to wake up. When the domestic issues are stabilized I doubt if voters will care much if international affairs deteriorate under Trump’s dealing.
I want to ask you: is it possible for the young people to respond to expressions of unfairness among the under-represented minorities? Many of the people under 50 believe the system is actually an oligarchy, beyond voter’s control. I see that myself. Take Rupert Murdock, the Koch Brothers, the int’l bankers, and Wall Street one percent. They are untouchable now, do you think Trump will inspire them to share power and wealth?