Evidence#3

http://thismatter.com/articles/voting.htm

Suffrage, the right to vote, is like a mirage. You can see something, it looks
like suffrage, but when you move closer to examine it, it disappears.

Voting is Not a Right

We have been told over the years, by politicians no less, that voting is our
duty, but what is most peculiar is that voting is not our right! The United
States Constitution and its Amendments does not explicitly give people the
right to vote at all! The original Constitution only allowed the people to vote
for the House of Representatives.

The House of Representatives shall be composed of members chosen every

second year by the people of the several states, and the electors in each
state shall have the qualifications requisite for electors of the most numerous
branch of the state legislature. Article I, Section 2, U.S. Constitution
Of course, this part of the Constitution, given a reasonable construction, gives
someone the right to vote. But because the people in each state needed the
qualifications that were determined by that state to vote, suffrage, unlike
rights enumerated in the Bill of Rights, was not extended to everyone. Even
the amendments that have extended the right to vote to blacks, women,
and young adults, merely state that their right cannot be denied or
abridged because of race, sex, or of any age 18 or older. However, nowhere
in the Constitution does it say that the right to vote cannot be denied, as long
as it applies to everyone 18 or older. Of course, no politician or government
would dare try to eliminate voting, for it is too deeply ingrained in our
custom, but it is clear that voting, unlike free speech, is largely controlled,
and thereby limited, by the state and federal governments. In fact, the most
powerful people in our government are not even elected by the people! Why?

The Founding Fathers Abhorred Tyranny and Populism

Coming from countries ruled by monarchies that had no regard for the
people, the founding fathers wanted to make sure that such tyranny could

never become established in the United Statesthus, the separation of

government powers with its legislative, executive, and judicial branches, and
limited terms of service and the constant need for re-electionall at the
expense of efficiency and effectiveness. In fact, the founding fathers
constructed our government with regard to preventing even the smallest
possibility of tyranny. However, the founding fathers also didnt want
populism. They didnt think the general population had enough intelligence
and information to wisely select their government leaders, and thought that
they could be misled by, as Alexander Hamilton said, low intrigue, and the
little arts of popularity. (No doubt Alexander Hamilton would look upon
todays political TV advertising with its sound bites and management by
media consultants as the very thing he feared!)

Like all governments, the colonies were jealous of their power. The original
colonies didnt want to share power with a federal government, making it
difficult for the Federalists to create a strong, central government. The
Federalists finally convinced the colonies of the need for a central
government that was stronger than the previous Confederation, and
overcame their resistance by allaying their fear of possible tyranny by
providing numerous checks and balances in the federal government, and by
granting the states sweeping powers in the election of its chief officers. Thus,
the Constitution gave the states the right to decide who could vote for the
House of Representativesthey decided that only white men with property
could vote. The state legislatures chose the Senators for their respective
states. It was only in 1913, that the 17th amendment allowed the people to
elect the Senators, with electors needing the same qualifications requisite
for electors of the most numerous branch of the state legislature, which at
that time, meant the electors had to be male. Moreover, the state legislatures
chose the electors in the Electoral College, who would then, chose the
President and Vice-President of the United States. Nor were the people
permitted to elect the members of the Supreme Court, an office that many
believe is the most powerful office of all. Thus, the founding fathers
constructed a government, through the Constitution, that purported to
represent the people, but most people, nonetheless, had no say whatsoever
in the new federal government.

Some voting regulations are necessary and desirable. Voters should certainly
be United States citizens, and be old enough to understand voting and the
issues, but many regulations were unreasonable, preventing most people
from voting. Voting has since become more democratic. It took several
amendments to the Constitution to extend the vote to most adult citizens.
The 15th amendment, adopted 1870, declared that the right to vote in state
and federal elections could not be denied because of race, color, or previous
servitude. The 19th amendment, adopted 1920, extended suffrage to women,

and the 26th amendment, adopted 1971, extended suffrage to everyone 18

years old or older. The 23rd amendment allowed the District of Columbia to
appoint electors to the Electoral College, which elects the President. This
amendment was necessary because the Constitution specified that only
states could select electors. The 24th amendment eliminated taxation as a
means to prevent people, particularly the poor and blacks, from voting.

Of course, if voting were a right, none of these amendments would have

been necessary.

Governments Regulate the Election Environment, Thereby Limiting Both

Voters and Voters Choices

Although most adults can now vote, the right to vote is still more restricted
than necessary. The governments control the details of the elections, who
may qualify as a candidate, and who may vote in what election. While some
control is necessary, much of it is unreasonable.

The Constitution and various laws determine which officeholders are elected.
The most powerful federal offices are the Presidency, the Supreme Court, the
Senate, and the House of Representatives. Of these, the Constitution only
allowed the people to elect candidates to the least powerful of these offices,
the House of Representatives. Even the allowance to elect House members
can be and is manipulated by the states, by drawing the Congressional
districts, sometimes in bizarre shapes in a process known as gerrymandering,
to favor one political party over another. It took the 17th amendment, passed
in 1913, to allow the popular election of Senators. The people still cant elect
the President or the justices of the Supreme Courtthe most powerful offices
in the federal government.

Voting is further restricted to the candidates. While people can vote for
anyone, only candidates have any real chance of winning. The foremost
factor in limiting candidates is wealth, especially if the candidate is running
against an incumbent in Congress. Members of Congress have extensive
staffs, supported by taxpayer dollars, which help them get re-elected, by
doing research, public relations, and helping constituents with problems.
Congressional members also have the franking privilege, giving them free
postage to mail out newsletters and advertisements to their constituency.
Congress passed laws that made it easy for them to be re-elected, and this is

why incumbents win the vast majority of time.

If a candidate runs for President, it helps considerably if the candidate is

either Republican or Democratic, because they are entitled to public
financing. A third party can get some public funding only if the candidate
wins 5% or more of the vote, and they can only get that money after the
election is over. Furthermore, Presidential candidates have to run 2 elections,
the primaries and the actual Presidential elections. In the past, caucuses,
then party conventions, decided who would be candidates, and while the
primaries have replaced these undemocratic modes of nominating
candidates, primaries increase the need for more money.

Other factors can also restrict voter choice. For instance, third parties have a
difficult time getting on the ballot because many signatures must be
collected in petitions in a short time well ahead of the election. Many voting
booths use levers where whole parties can be selected with one pull. Many
voters pull the party levers out of convenience rather than because they
actually want all of the candidates. This, of course, makes it difficult for
candidates who are not Republican or Democratic, to win.

The Electoral College is a constant reminder that the vote of the people for
President of the United States has no legal standing, except insofar as the
states allow it, and even then, in most cases, the electors of the Electoral
College are free to choose whomever they want, even people who are not on
the ballot! While some states do provide penalties for electors who do not
vote as pledged, the penalties are minor, their vote is not invalidated, and
requiring electors to vote for a certain candidate is clearly unconstitutional,
since it was clearly the intention of the founding fathers that the electors be
free to investigate and choose the best candidates for President and VicePresident (Federalist Paper No. 68, The Mode of Electing the President). Of
course, some have argued that maybe there is a legal basis for forcing
electors to choose a particular candidate (U.S. Constitution, Article II with
Annotations), but then why have electors or ballots? The only reasonable
construction for electors and ballots in the Electoral College is that they be
free to choose the President and Vice-President.