ABSTRACT
Most of us have learned from our government classes the importance of democracy, with free elections being the key ingredient. Harrigan (2000: 178) makes it clear just how essential the right to vote is: “Elections are the heart of democracy; they give the people a voice in how they are governed. Without meaningful elections there is no meaningful democracy.” Budge and Farlie (1983: xi) point out that voting is the only time when most citizens can directly act to influence government decisions as elections provide a means to link government actions with public desires such as deciding whether to increase property taxes or fund a sports stadium. The 2010 U.S. election in which Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives and also gained numerous Senate seats provides an interesting example of how linkages between voting and government actions might work. In response to the message from the voters, President Obama and the Republican leadership discussed working together. Obama conceded there would be no legislation on greenhouse gases and indicated he would be willing to negotiate on issues like the extension of tax cuts for the rich. He was possibly willing to “tweak” health care legislation, but he would not “relitigate arguments” concerning major parts of that legislation (Baker and Hulse 2010).
