Throughout history, it has been apparent that the American democratic government has been built upon the ideals that all citizens have a right to an equal share in political power, a simple definition of democracy. A system of a separation of power, and checks and balances was created to divide up power to different branches of government. This notion of equal power is represented through the Constitution- and as in practice, our democratic governmental structure is run by its most popularly understood principle: the majority rule.
The side with the most votes wins, whether it is through an election, or a legislative bill. The majority vote decides. However much this notion may run and dictate many of our government’s actions, there are still many barriers in people’s right to govern, that very directly go against the intent and premise of the writings of the Constitution. 230 years ago, the Constitution was written to solidify our nations government, and to create a government that puts the power in the hands of the people. Nevertheless, some aspects of our Constitution are anti-democratic whether this be through instances such as the Electoral College, or some of the practices of the Supreme Court.
The Electoral College fundamentally undermines the basic principle and right of the one citizen- one vote, and the majority rule. Electoral votes are not distributed according to population. Every state gets one electoral vote for each member of its delegation to the House of Representatives and 2 electors representing the states two senators, a system described in Article II, section 1 of the Constitution. “The Electors shall meet in their respective States, and vote by Ballot for two Persons, of whom one at least shall not be an Inhabitant of the same State with themselves."
Currently, the Electoral College includes 538 electors, 535 for the total number of congressional members, and three who represent Washington, D.C., as allowed by the 23rd Amendment. The electors of each state meet in their respective state capitals to officially cast their votes for president and vice president. This causes significant over-representation of small states in the College, because it is not based off of population.
Using 2010 Census figures and the new distribution of House seats based on that census, an individual citizen in Wyoming has more than triple the weight in electoral votes as an individual in California. This is the case because it was necessary to attract the support of smaller states for ratification when constructing the Constitution. Rather than creating a democratic system for the presidential election, this part of the Constitution was written with the intent of enticing the smaller states to support the ratification of the country. More representation, and more power for the smaller states. The Electoral College makes it possible for a candidate to win a presidential election not based off of popular vote, but by needing to win only eleven states. The system of the Electoral College defies the notion of the majority and popular vote of the citizens. Instead, it gives more power to the electors, who often may vote contrary to the majority of the people’s decision.
In the Declaration of Independence, it is stated that, “ all men were created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive on these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it. ”
This reveals that the power lies in the hands of the people. Everyone is a son of God, thus should have the same amount of power, and a divine right to have equal rights and equal representation. The Electoral College goes against Jefferson’s writings. While the popular vote does have some power, the real power lies in the hands of the Electoral College, not the people.
A recent example of the unjust repercussions of the Electoral College was the election of 2000 between Al Gore and George Washington. Al Gore won the popular vote by more than 540,000 votes in total. Clearly, the majority of the country elected Al Gore to become the next president. However, the Electoral College voted differently. Bush got a total of 271 electoral votes, 18 more than Gore. This was based off of winning the electoral votes from the small states. Bush's victories in many smaller states gave him more electoral votes than Gore's larger margins of victories in California, New York, and Illinois. This is purely a strategic win, as Bush targeted the smaller states, to win more electoral votes.
The Supreme Court’s greatest power is judicial review. The court has the authority to review the actions of the other branches of government, on the grounds that they violate basic principles of the Constitution. The Supreme Court Justices are unelected, and are appointed and approved by the President and the Senate. It gives the Judicial Branch and Court the power to interpret the laws and actions of the other two branches and is an important part of the checks and balances system to prevent any one branch from becoming too powerful.
This being said, the people do not have any power, or influence on who becomes one of the nine Justices. This permits unelected judges to determine and decide what is constitutional or not. Judiciary review can prevent an actual democratic government to run smoothly because they have the power to overrule the actions of the elected officials. As a society, every person is driven by their own belief system, which influences how one lives his or her everyday life. Each Justice comes into Court interpreting the law differently according to their own personal set of beliefs, morals, and values. This begins to become a problem when the citizens do not have any say in who they think should be interpreting the law.
The Justices have zero connection to the people, which defeats the purpose of the majority. In the Preamble of the Constitution, it is stated that, “We the People of the United Sates, in Order to from a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility…”[5] We, the people are not able to “establish justice,” simply due to the fact that the Justices elected do not represent the majority of the nation. The Justices aren’t fighting for what is best for the people, but rather are interpreting the law based off of their own belief system. This system creates a sense of control, not with the best interest of the majority in mind.
Article three, section one of The Constitution states that Justices "shall hold their Offices during good Behaviour," meaning that they will maintain their position for life. In a society that is changing so rapidly; with issues arising such as LGBT rights, or abortion- it is hard to become accustomed to new views, which could lead to a very conservative outlook on issues that affect many people nationwide. As more recent Justices are appointed to the Court, they will undoubtedly have a fresher, and new perspective of the Constitution than Justices serving 50+ years. As stated previously, these 9 Justices interpret the law, and if you do not agree with some of the viewpoints and decisions of the Justices, then you are not fully represented in the court of law. They are not fighting for you and your voice is not heard, a basic right as a citizen of the United States of America.
While the Constitution does allow the majority to be heard, in terms of electing state representatives and senators; there are portions of our government that mitigate the aspect of the power of the people. Our views and voices as citizens are diminished due to the writings of the Constitution. The Electoral College is just one out of several pieces of evidence that prove that all citizens are not granted the right to all political power. The Constitution applies to a very specific time era, where there were ulterior motives involved when writing the structures of government. The Electoral College was created to gain support in all the small states for the ratification of the country. This does not apply to us now. The Electoral College is diminishing its citizens voices by essentially making their vote irrelevant. Similarly, the structure of the Supreme Court is an unjust way to interpret and uphold laws. By having unelected Justices, there is not enough representation in the court for what the majority needs and believes in.
We need a democratic system of government which allows the voice of every American to be heard. The Electoral College and Judicial Review are just two examples of how the Constitution exemplifies antidemocratic viewpoints. The Constitution was written for the people, by the people, with the intent that it protects the rights of each citizen, and allows them the power to share political power. Through these two examples, it is evident that the Constitution is hypocritical in its writings, and does not allow the people to fully have an ability to govern.
