~ Voter Consent ~
By William H. White
It is a basic democratic principle that government must obtain the consent of the governed. Clearly all legitimate consent requires the ability to withhold consent. And elections, whether ballot questions or elections to office, are the most fundamental method by which voters give their consent.
While voters can withhold their consent when voting on questions by voting no, currently voters are unable to withhold their consent to elections to office. We should consider enacting a Voter Consent law, giving voters the ballot option to withhold their consent to an election to office by requiring a votable line "None of the Above" (NOTA) at the end of the candidate list for each office. By voting for that line instead of a candidate, the voter indicates none of the listed candidates is acceptable and instead votes to hold a new election, with new candidates, to fill that office. If NOTA wins, a new by-election is called fill such offices. While NOTA by-elections are an expense, they would not occur unless voters voted to hold them, and they are likely to be less costly than electing unacceptable candidates to office.
With a NOTA ballot option, voters make the final decision about the choices political parties made, rather than those parties deciding the final choices voters can make. Even candidates running unopposed would have to obtain voter consent to be elected. And all political parties would know their selected candidates must face NOTA as well as any opponent, reducing the incentives for negative campaigning and "lesser evil" candidates. Buying "access" to candidates or determining election outcomes with contributions becomes a more uncertain enterprise. Surely a Voter Consent law will not solve all the problems with democratically governing ourselves; however, it seems to me a reasonable, fair, and workable improvement, returning some power to "We the People", from whom our constitution draws its legitimacy, and taking some power from political parties and corporations, whom our constitution never mentions.
As for voters who now stay away, or do not vote for any candidate for an office, because of dissatisfaction with all candidates, I suggest voting and writing-in "None of the Above" as a clear way to withhold consent as well as to call for enactment of a Voter Consent law.
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