Democracy Essay -- Politics Voters Voting Essays

Democracy In the 2000 presidential election, less than 59% of our population saw fit to even vote. 80.5% of those voting were white, that's roughly 60% of the white population. Of the meager 19.5% of the vote the non-white population represented, less than 51% of non-whites able to vote actually did (Census). What does this mean? How can democracy – a republic like ours – correctly function without a more complete representation of opinion from its people? Former UCLA Law professor Julian Eule argued in his essay â€Å"Judicial Review of Direct Democracy† that the framers of our constitution set up the republic to in effect protect us from ourselves, to protect us from this sort of majority rule.(Eule) I believe that this misrepresentation is responsible for racist legislation and legislators. A recent NAACP resolution stated "The American people deserve political leaders who make clear, concise and well-reasoned decisions based on fact and clearly informed by all people involved, not leaders that perpetuate erroneous assumptions and ill-informed deductions based on racial and ethnic stereotypes," in reference to North Carolina Representative Howard Coble's remarks supporting former president Roosevelt's internment of the Japanese during World War II. (NAACP) The japanese internment has long been a dark blot on American history, but this legislator, this elected legislator seems to not represent a majority opinion of the people he represents. As well, NAACP president Kweisi Mfume remarked "President Bush continues to nominate right-wing extremists to the federal bench," in reference to the proposed confirmation of Jeffrey S. Sutton as a 6th Circuit Appeals Court judge, a position that demands a truly neutral position. Jeffrey S. ... ... the Total Voting-Age Population, by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin, for States: November 2000 US Census Bureau 27 Feb. 2002 <http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/voting/p20-542/tab04a.txt> Julian N. Eule, â€Å"Judicial Review of Direct Democracy, â€Å" 99 Yale Law Journal 1503 1990. Anti-Affirmative Action Proposition Passes In California CNN AllPolitics 6 Nov. 1996 <http://www.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1996/news/9611/06/ballots. california.209/index.shtml> University of California Engineering Enrollment Rates (Undergraduate) Career Recruitment Media, Inc. 2003 <http://www.graduatingengineer.com/articles/minority/05- 01-01-t1.html> ACLU Says Expected White House Brief Opposing Minority Equality in College Admissions Shows Lack of Commitment to Racial Justice ACLU 15 Jan. 2003 <http://www.aclu.org/RacialEquality/RacialEquality.cfm?ID= 11620&c=134>