What does it mean to vote?
You voted for me to go to war in Iraq
A little more than ten years ago, I had a conversation with a woman who strongly opposed the war in Iraq. By then, the war was hugely unpopular. Iraq wasn’t a threat to American sovereignty. They didn’t have weapons of mass destruction ready to rain down on our allies. They maybe didn’t need a new form of government and certainly didn’t want America to help them get there.
Since I had carried a rifle in Iraq, I thought she could cut her lecture short. After some more minutes of lecture, I got frustrated. I should have kept quiet, but I made the situation worse by saying, “You voted for me to go to war in Iraq.”
Of course, that got her going again. Not everyone appreciates that I’m a truth-teller. But it was absolutely true.
Voting in our democratic republic is a willful act to transfer our personal autonomy to a representative.
At the individual level, voting on Election Day is our attempt to choose representatives to whom we delegate further choices. We may or may not vote for our chosen candidate, but a candidate will win. At the end of the vote tally, we know our elected representatives.
That elected representative will then assemble and cast further votes on our behalf.
Because we delegate our vote to an elected representative, their vote becomes ours.
You voted for me to go to war in Iraq because our delegated representatives in the House and Senate passed the Authorization of the Use of Military Force for Iraq in October 2002. Even if your preferred candidate didn’t win, you still have an elected representative. Even if your elected representative voted against using military force in Iraq, the House and Senate still passed the measure.
The choices our elected representatives make become our choices. Since we are accountable for the outcomes of our choices, it is our duty to hold our leaders and power structures accountable for their character and decisions. We may delegate our authority, but we can’t delegate our responsibility.
Representation and voting are a central premise to our democratic republic. They are so crucial that America was born at war, fighting for the right to representation.
Thomas Paine and the American Revolutionary War
The Revolutionary War wasn’t just a fight for independence from British tyranny. It was a fight for representation. In the Declaration of Independence, American founders identified several disputes with British rule related to representation. These included…
King George III refused to approve laws in the public's best interest. He refused to pass laws that would give more people representation in government, even though we were willing to give up other rights in exchange. He suspended colonial legislatures and declared he had the power to make laws for them. He dissolved representative assemblies that opposed his policies. He refused to call new elections after dissolving assemblies, leaving the people without representation.
In short, we fought for our right to decide our future through elected representatives.
In 1776, at the dawn of the seven-year war that we fought for independence and representation, British-born philosopher, writer, and revolutionary figure Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense. Paine had moved to the American colonies in 1774 and penned ideas central to the debates surrounding independence from Britain.
Common Sense advocated giving people the power to elect their representatives. Paine saw voting as the core of a new social contract—an idea that resonated with the American colonists who were denied representation in British governance.
This new social contract included a government that derived its authority from the consent of the governed rather than from hereditary monarchy or divine right. His social contract redefined the relationship between the people and their government. It advocated for government based on the people's will, established through free and fair elections. It required representation, wherein elected officials act on behalf of the citizens.
Unlike monarchies, where rulers are not accountable to the people, Paine’s social contract promoted the idea that all citizens are politically equal and government officials are accountable to the electorate. It rejected hereditary rule and argued that no one has a natural right to rule over others simply by birth. He called for breaking these systems and establishing a republic where people chose leaders based on merit and public trust.
Last, he viewed government as a safeguard for liberty and believed the role of government should be to protect the liberty of its citizens. He viewed the government’s role as safeguarding individual freedom rather than imposing control or oppressing the populace.
When we vote, we exercise a fundamental right to shape our government based on our choices. Voting is our opportunity to hold our government accountable. Today, voting is a modern form of delegating decision-making to a representative—a concept that aligns with the principles Paine advocated for in Common Sense.
Paine would remind us that just because a system has been in place for a long time doesn’t make it right. He would challenge us to hold our leaders and power structures accountable and urge us to vote to prevent abuse, ensure accountability, and secure the freedom and security he believed were the ultimate purpose of government.
Paine and the American Revolution laid the foundation for our right to representation, but the story of personal freedom doesn't end there. Let’s fast forward to the 20th century and Jean-Paul Sartre, who logically joined individual liberty and personal responsibility.
Paine advocated for our right to choose our government. Sartre challenged us to embrace the weight of those choices in an indifferent universe. Though separated by time and context, both thinkers converged on a sobering idea: our actions—or inactions—define ourselves and our society.
Jean-Paul Sartre, Radical Freedom, and Personal Responsibility
The existential philosophy of radical freedom by Jean-Paul Sartre reverberates with the act of voting.
Sartre believed in radical freedom—the idea that individuals are free to make their own choices in an indifferent universe without a predetermined purpose. He famously said we are "condemned to be free" because our freedom comes with heavy personal responsibility.
Every person defines themselves through their actions. We can’t blame external forces for our choices and outcomes—we are entirely responsible.
Tied to this notion of personal responsibility, voting in our democratic republic directly means we are accountable for the outcomes of choices our representatives make on our behalf. We delegate our authority to elected officials, but we can’t delegate the responsibility for the consequences of their decisions.
This philosophy is starkly relevant in the context of modern voting. Let’s consider some examples. First, a disillusioned voter who decides not to vote. They might think their single ballot won't make a difference. Sartre would argue that the choice to withhold their vote is still one for which they're entirely responsible. By choosing to refuse to vote, they accept any outcome as their choice because they gave up their voice and power to influence change.
Then there’s the individual who votes strictly along party lines without holding their own party accountable. Defaulting to the status quo is still a choice we make. Elected officials swear an oath to the Constitution; some violate their oath. We're responsible for the consequences of electing leaders who subvert their oath to the Constitution or don’t align with American values.
Individuals create meaning through their actions, and we shape the future of our society through the choices we make at the ballot box. We are responsible for those choices.
Voting, then, is more than just a right—it’s an exercise in radical freedom. We are condemned to it and responsible for the leaders we elect and their policies. While heavy, the burden of that responsibility is essential to the functioning of a free society.
In sum
Representation is so essential America was born at war over it. At imminent peril, we pledged to each other our Lives, Fortunes, and sacred Honor for the right to vote.
I don’t believe in political parties. I believe in America.
Individual liberty and personal responsibility are the foundation of the nation.
Liberty is the right to participate in choosing our representatives. The choices our elected representatives make become our choices.
With liberty comes responsibility. Since we are accountable for the outcomes of our choices, it is our duty to hold our leaders and power structures accountable for their character and decisions.
You are accountable for the choices of your elected representatives.
I am accountable for the choices of my elected representatives.
As an American who swore my oath to support and defend the Constitution for nearly my entire adult life, including days carrying a rifle on foreign soil, I will vote for the Constitution.
As a daughter's father, I will vote for her future to have the individual liberty and personal responsibility that comes with making her own healthcare decisions.
I believe in individual liberty. I will vote for the right of states to protect their interests. I will vote for the right of states to have their votes counted. I will vote against any measure that threatens the individual liberty of any American.
I believe in personal responsibility. I will vote for leaders who uphold the rule of law and against any leader who does not.
May God bless the United States of America.
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