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Voting in a Democracy

The United States is a representative democracy. The efficacy of representative government depends, in large part, on the participation of its citizens. The most effective form of participation granted to the subjects of a representative democracy is voting. Although the right to vote for all members of American society above the age of 18 is a foregone conclusion, this was not the case at one time. Various laws and practices have served to deny the right to vote to certain members of society. Since its inception the United States has treated the issue of voting rights with caution. The nation gained its independence behind the battle cry of "taxation without representation" which brought the issue to the fore during the Constitutional Convention. Perhaps because voting rights was such a volatile issue for the young nation the founders elected to leave the matter to the states to resolve. The Constitution...