Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

The right of citizens to vote for members of their government is fundamental in any democratic society as evidenced by elections in the former totalitarian countries of Afghanistan and Iraq. Just as a physician will take her patient's pulse to determine whether or not she is alive, champions of global democracy will first look for the presence of elections in a country as the life source of participatory government. The existence of an electoral process, however, can only serve as a preliminary indicator of democracy. Elections alone cannot be used as the sole measure of the democratic system's health in a given nation. Instead, the extent to which all citizens of a country participate in the democratic process, even those on the fringes of society, gives a stronger indication of the degree to which a country truly values its democratic system.

The value that a country places on inclusiveness and equality reflects the number and types of citizens that are allowed to engage in elections. While there seems to be a general consensus in the existence of some limits on who may vote, such as age' and citizenship, 2 the degree to which "unfavored" members of society are allowed to participate shows whether or not a country is true to its democratic ideals or merely uses the democratic mechanism to perpetuate inequality in its society. Historically, social groups such as immigrants, racial minorities, and women have been barred from choosing their representatives, while still subject to the laws passed by these elected representatives. Likewise, prisoners have, at least in some societies, been barred from voting even though their lives may be the most immediately impacted by the government controlling their very movement.

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