Throughout history, humanity has been in search of the optimal form of state power. Many people were looking for a solution to the problem of creating an ideal society with the best organization of power, in which social justice, peace, and happiness prevail, and people are free and equal. As a rule, these values are perceived and associated with the theory of democracy. The practical implementation of the theory of democracy is possible only through elections and voting. In this regard, in a modern state, democracy is ensured by free voting and the presence of a representative system. This provision is a necessary condition for democracy, without which it is impossible.
If freedom and equality are essential features of democracy, this would find its fulfillment mainly in the fact that everyone directly participates in governance. The essence of democracy is not elections, but freedom and equality, namely equality in political power exercise. Simply put, democracy is egalitarianism, i.e., a principle that requires the organization of human relations at different levels based on the idea of individuals’ equality. Thus, it is equality of votes, namely, equality in power and political agency.
The United States is a country in which elections voting are embedded in the socio-political structure: they are already covered by Article 1 of the Constitution. The constitutional principle of recognizing the people as the bearer of sovereignty and the only source of power implies nothing more than the expression of the people’s power in voting, in which a majority vote makes decisions. The implementation of the people’s power occurs through their participation in elections and referendums. Consequently, every citizen, voter, can exercise a certain part of the people’s sovereignty by voting, which means that a citizen is recognized as a certain integral part of the sovereignty of the people. Elections are viewed as a tool to legitimize state power, ensuring political self-organization of civil society and implementing the principles of political freedom in the organization and functioning of representative democracy.
However, none of the named values make sense when the election results or voting results are determined inaccurately, i.e., when the officially established election results or voting results do not correspond to the true expression of the people’s will. Its inadequate reflection in the official election documents entails such circumstances in which government bodies and local governments do not express the people’s power. In this case, there is no power of the people in the state and no democracy as an organization of power.
With the help of their voice, people help determine their country’s development, who will lead it, and in what direction. Due to not using the right to vote, individuals thereby help the candidate they did not support. By giving a vote to their opponents, it becomes possible to protect their interests and to show their position. Even if one does not have particular preferences, there may be some aspects of modern society that do not suit them. In this case, one needs to select a candidate who focuses on the changes. Every vote is important, and a preponderance of just a few votes can allow a politician or party to win.
The main thing that a person has is their freedom. Elections are a platform for actualizing the freedom of political choice. It is this fact of showing one’s preference that constitutes the political agency of the individual. The latter is impossible under non-democratic regimes in which there is no political freedom of citizens. However, if one does not exhibit political agency and refrain from actualizing freedom of choice, then the very essence of democracy is lost. The equality of votes, expressed in legitimate representation, is damaged, and the balance of the system is biased towards those who represent that part of the system that has expressed its political agency.