Democracy in the Constitution, Essay Example

Representatives must meet certain qualification for election. They must meet a minimum age requirement of 25 years, be a US citizen for the past seven years and be a resident of the state in which they seek election. “There are two divisions of the House of Representatives, the House which is the lower house and the upper house which is the United States Senate.”[1](Redroom 2009).  This composition of powers is established in Article I of the United States Constitution. Each state receives representation according to its population with a minimum of one Representative. Each Representative is elected and serves a two year term in office. To date, the total number of Representative’s is fixed at 435. The District of Columbia does not have any representation.

Political parties hold conventions to choose their candidate to run for President. The election for Presidency comes with a Vice-President attached to the ticket. “There is a general election held in each of the states to cast vote for a voter’s choice. Normally the [2](Common Craft 2009). candidate that receives the most votes gets the electoral votes.” If there is no electoral winner, the House of Representative will choose the President. Each state is represented by two Senators regardless of the state’s population. This is to ensure equal representation. Senators serve six year staggered terms in the upper chamber of the House. The qualifications for selection are to be of minimum age 30, be a US citizen and be a resident of the state of which the person wishes to represent. Senators are chosen by popular election. There is a primary election then a secondary election. In the primary election there is a challenge between the Republican and Democratic party. All Article III judges are appointed for life by the president with the advice and approval of the U.S. Senate, and can only be removed through impeachment. Article I judges (such as bankruptcy court and magistrates court judges) do not have the constitutional protections accorded to Article III judges, since they are appointed in a different process. The states, on the other hand, have a variety of procedures for filling judgeships. While the governor appoints some state judges for a term of a number of years, judges in many other states are required to run for election.

“Living in a democratic society affords a person the privilege to vote and choose the candidate they wish for with relation to the House, Senate, Presidency and Judge’s in State and Local Districts”[3](Kingdom 2009). With the Presidency election as stated above, normally the electoral votes will go with the popular vote of the state.  That is why it is very important to exercise the right to vote.  Citizens vote for electors and electors vote their choice for Presidency. This would be an example of an indirect election. In other elections such as the House, Senate and some levels of judgeships, the majority of the vote wins the election. Majority is 51%. “A well-regulated election, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to an audited, voter-verified, certified paper record of the vote, shall not be infringed.” Essentially, the amendment proposes four clear criteria that any electoral system must meet, whether state, municipal, or federal, in order to be constitutional. The criteria are:

Audited: We must be able to audit the election thoroughly.

Voter-verified: The voter must be able to verify that the permanent record of his or her vote reflects the voter’s intention.

Certified: The process must be certified at interim steps ahead of the results being known.

Paper: Records and ballots must be paper so as to enable all citizens to have access to the content and examination of those records, not just technical experts.

Any electoral system that does not meet these standards is unconstitutional, and the administering government would have to correct the problem.

If a member of the governing body holds another municipal office or position, they cannot be paid for anything other than their elected duties. This means that a governing body member could serve as city manager, chief of police, office manager, volunteer fire-fighter, etc., but only if they are paid nothing for the additional duties. Majority rule is when governance is done according to the expressed preferences of the majority. A majority is not the most votes, it is 51%. Plurality rule is when governance is done according to the expressed preferences of the prevailing group. For example, if there were three candidates running for office and the final vote count ended up as 40%, 35%, and 25%, the candidate won through plurality, because he or she ended up with the most votes and not a majority, which would be 51%. Most of these elected officials are elected through majority rule.

All registered voters are allowed to vote in officeholder elections; that is registered voters of the parish or county of which the officeholder is running for term. The minimum voting age at present is 18. There are no wealth discrimination factors placed on voters. They must be in good standing in the society without any felony convictions.

Most of our individual rights are protected in the Bill of Rights which is the first ten amendments of the US Constitution. The are as follows:

“1^st Amendment: Freedom of (or from) religion. Freedom of speech. Freedom to assemble. Freedom to petition the government.

2^nd Amendment: Right to bear arms.

3rd Amendment: Freedom from quartering soldiers.

4th Amendment: Freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. Warrants must only be issued upon probable cause, and shall be specific.

5th Amendment: Criminal indictments must be by grand jury. Freedom from double jeopardy. Freedom from testifying against oneself. Right to face accusers. Right to due process. Right of just compensation for takings.

6th Amendment: Right to speedy trial. Right to impartial jury. Right to be informed of the charges upon which the accused is held. Right to face accusers. Right to produce witnesses for the accused. Right to legal counsel.

7th Amendment: Right to jury trial in civil cases. Facts found by a jury cannot be re-examined by another court.

8th Amendment: Freedom from excessive bail or fines. Freedom from cruel or unusual punishment.

9th Amendment: The listing of a right in any other part of the Constitution does not imply that other unlisted rights do not exist. Supreme Court decisions have found a handful of important rights that fall under the 9th Amendment, such as the right to privacy.” [4](Globalize 2009).

13th Amendment: Right to not be a slave.

14th Amendment: Right to citizenship of any person born in the United States. Right to equal protection of the national and state laws. Right to be free of any law that abridges the privileges or immunities of a citizen. Right to be free of any law that deprives a person of life, liberty, or property without due process.

15th Amendment: Right to vote regardless of race or colour.

17th Amendment: Right to vote for Senators.

19th Amendment: Right to vote regardless of gender.

23rd Amendment: Right to vote for presidential electors if a resident of Washington, D.C.

24th Amendment: Right to vote even if a poll tax or any other tax is unpaid.

26th Amendment: Right to vote guaranteed for any person at least 18 years old.

Not until the 13^th Amendment to the US Constitution was ‘slavery’ mentioned.  Only the Confederate States of America’s Constitution mentioned slavery, and it banned the future use of the slave trade. The US Constitution represents a representative democracy. It aims to secure the rights of individual citizens. In a direct democracy the will of the people prevails. We do have some constraints on our choices because of government has some ‘discretionary powers’ which prevent the US from having pure direct democracy.

[1]Redroom Electing a New Judge for Judging 09 August 2009. 31 August 2009. < http://www.redroom.com/blog/surchdg8/electing-a-new-judge-for-judging>.

[2] Commoncraft Electing a US President in Plain English 23 May 2009. 31 August 2009. < http://www.commoncraft.com/election>.

[3] Kingdom Direct v Representative Democracy23 May 2009. 31 August 2009.< http://ethicalpost.blogspot.com/2009/05/direct-v-representative-democracy.html.

[4] Globalize Constitution of the United States Bill of Rights 31 May 2009. 31 August 2009< http://www.ratical.org/co-globalize/BillOfRights.html>.