Introduction
Democracy relates to a government system which allows citizens to exercise their respective power by casting votes. The nationals in a given country encompass its governing body where it takes precedence. Representative democracy mandates the selection of officials to fulfill their mandate to the general public. The 19 th century heralded the inception of democracy in America. Even so, the concept indicated some drastic changes at the beginning of the 20 th century (Morrow, 2017) . It advocated for an improvement in the privileges which accrued to individuals fostering some governmental changes. Out of 10 American’s, six people indicates that the democratic systems work efficiently. In comparison, 4 people in a sample of ten respondents underscore the inadequacies affiliated with the current system (Pew Research Centre, 2018) . Presently, democracy in the United States faces numerous challenges. As a result, the study aims at focusing on factors such as the constitution, limited government, voting and elections and their role in the improvement of democracy by relying on an evaluation of various secondary sources.
Limited Government
Limited governments rely on the provisions enshrined in the constitution. The power attributable to such governments with regards to its citizens is subject to numerous limitations. Democracy determines the prevalence of such governments (Kosack et al., 2018) . The systems developed to dispense administrative procedures often ensure the distribution of power to avert circumstances where a single individual harbors too much influence. Through limited governments, a nation’s residents enjoy individual freedoms in addition to the protection of their private property. The restriction of governmental powers aligns itself with the provisions relating to democracy particularly where it asserts the equality attributable to man.
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In America, processes which culminate in separated powers paved the way for the development of the legislature, executive as well as the judiciary. Through their establishment, instances where branches compete for available power face extensive inhibition. The regulation of power underscores the prerequisites of democracy. As a result, each of the operational arms affiliated with the government foster the prevalence of desirable outcomes. For example, the legislature’s mandate limits its capacity to enact laws albeit the president’s capacity to veto subsequent regulations (Strøm & McClean, 2016) . However, overriding such an occurrence requires the acquisition of a vote by the super majority to avert rulings put in place by respective governments. The president’s power to formulate treaties requires the senate's involvement particularly where some ratification becomes mandatory. Furthermore, judiciary members coupled with the president face impeachment through the legislature’s efforts. Highlighting such core functions ensures that individual liberties attract the necessary protections which facilitate the prevalence of democracy.
Furthermore, the processes encompassing the implementation of governmental restrictions also aim at the establishment of different states with a capacity for self-government. The system developed provides a demarcation for the federal government coupled with those operating at state levels. In such circumstances, the federal government wields the power to collect taxes to boost its overall revenues. It also holds the mandate to have an army at its disposal in addition to formulating relevant regulations. In comparison, individual states hold the mandate to exercise various provisions of a wider scope which facilitate their efficiency.
America's constitution utilizes different articles as well as sections to provide a description which specifies the boundaries which define state as well as federal government actions (Amankwah-Amoah, 2015) . For example, section 9 contained in article 1 highlights the restrictions which govern congressional power. The section dictates that regardless of the position held by individuals, restraints must transcend circumstances with an inclination to utilize titles connoting nobility. Furthermore, section 1 enshrined in article 2 compass executive powers to the president while limiting their respective terms.
Adherence to principles pertaining to limited government ensures that an individual's democratic rights are upheld. Such rights include harboring individual perspectives with regards to religion and the sources utilized by individuals to obtain information. It also underscores an allowance for individuals to associate with others, join organizations in addition to operational unions. Furthermore, governments obtain their legitimacy from the consent issued by its respective publics.
Voting and Elections
In the United States, the selection of government officials mandates the prevalence of elections and the accompanying voting exercises at local, state as well as federal levels. The Electoral College facilitates presidential elections after four years (Posada-Carbó, 2016) . Elections guarantee the prevalence of democracy by facilitating the representation of a nation's citizens. Instances where parliamentary officials fail to reflect the public's wishes, voting as well as election facilitates some corrective actions for the masses. Through voting, citizens exercise their sovereignty.
Competing parties present the respective manifestos owing to the democracy enshrined in the elective process. The United States extensively relies on the two-party system which fosters the identification of democrats and their counterparts the republicans. American elections which commenced from 1852 conferred extensive control to either party depending on the subsequent outcomes (Mayer, 2018) . Democrats and republicans exert control over the Congress operational in the United States through the mandate acquired from the processes affiliated with elections. Allowing different groups to communicate their opinions ensures voter education facilitating processes which allow them to exercise their democratic rights. Other methods used by parties include some reliance on broadcasts or even leaflets. The tactics employed to attract favor for respective groups curtails efforts which lead to the implementation of extreme policies. Elections as well as voting provide a guarantee that power acquisition occurs legitimately.
Elections which adhere to democratic provisions ensure inclusiveness while fostering the competitiveness of the parties involved (Scala, Johnson & Rogers, 2015) . Circumstances where governments rely on exclusive groups for the election fail to adhere to the prerequisites stipulated by democracy. Processes which adhere to democratic provisions include religious minorities, and individuals with bearing ratio as well as ethnic backgrounds. Moreover, it aims at the elimination of gender-based discrimination. Furthermore, citizens wield the power to subject respective governments to some criticism while offering their alternatives. Moreover, their periodic prevalence prohibits circumstances where an individual holds office for a long duration fostering some inclination towards dictatorship. Hence, officials accept circumstances which deprive them of various authoritative positions through the votes cast by a region's residents.
Extensive focus should endeavor to encourage the involvement of Americans in voting and the accompanying election processes (Achen & Bartels, 2017) . For example, over 100 million individuals failed to vote in 2016 to facilitate the prevalent presidential elections albeit their eligibility. Furthermore, American citizens estimated at 6.1 million suffer disenfranchisement from engaging in election related processes owing to felony convictions in the past. More specifically, Florida accounts for 27% of such spaces. Challenges also characterize the registration process. For example, individuals aged 18 to 24 often attract consideration to engage in voting-related procedures owing to their eligibility. However, 45% of such individuals were not registered in preparation for the elections held in 2016 (Populardemocracy.org, n.d) . Moreover, eligible citizens estimated at a rate of 57% failed to participate in the process albeit having acquired the recommended age.
The reduction in voter turnout evident in 2016 emanated from various prevalent barriers implemented by policy makers. For example, congressional votes indicated responsiveness to constituents relating to high-income as opposed to middle income. Hence, efforts should aim at the attainment civic participation to ensure that democracy prevails in the United States. Corporate lobbying also contributes extensively to the gaps evident in voting related processes. Moreover, the situation is further compounded by expenditure directed towards elections.
In some cases, adopt government mandatory voting to avert circumstances culminating in a low turnout of the respective voters. For example, Latin America accounts the 14 nations which have implemented mandatory voting out of 25 countries with similar regulations globally. In some cases, search incidences underscore the masses’ propensity to indicate some collective action particularly where single vote fails to resulting numerous benefits for individuals (Vlaicu, 2017) . In some circumstances, failing to cast votes paves the way for fines or subsequent restrictions in the application for passports or government related opportunities. Such occurrences primarily characterize nations such as Brazil and Bolivia (Mainwaring, 2018) .
The Constitution
The American constitution came into effect in 1787 through Philadelphia’s constitutional convention. After its ratification by 11 states, the law came into effect in 1789 (Tushnet, 2015) . Democracy derives its basis on the constitution and ensures that the majority’s authority is subject to subsequent limitations which guarantee that individual rights accruing to minorities attract recognition. In such circumstances, popular sovereignty confers some authority to respective governments to enact the rules adopted. It also dictates some limitation with regards to the extent attributable to government functions. Through democracy, subsequent laws attract legitimacy particularly with respect to the constitutive processes. Moreover, constitutional provisions impact democracy differently. In some situations, negative effects become evident whereas other cases highlight positive outcomes which assume a facilitative role.
Constitutional requirements provide some restrictions for individuals assuming powerful positions with regard to the performance of specific actions which include implementing death penalties or subjecting in individual to torture (Shi & Tindall, 2016) . It also bars instances where governmental bodies aim at rendering some influence on ecclesiastical appointments. The justification for prevalent limitations commonly aims at upholding pre-political rights which dictate the magnitude of the interference anticipated from public authorities where individuals are concerned. Where the limitations impede the prevalence of democracy, extensive scrutiny becomes necessary to determine the applicable modifications paving the way for ratification.
The constitution schedules instances which uphold the prerequisites of democracy such as the involvement of the public in voting processes to determine various aspects of national importance. In such circumstances, the law assumes a facilitative role which determines the powers conferred to voters, the appropriate time to hold elections and the respective organizations whose involvement is mandatory. Such requirements permeate circumstances relating to respective legislature processes (Singh, 2018) . It restricts the incumbents’ ability to mandate the occurrence of snap elections hence acting as a catalyst for an electoral process which seeks some alignment with the provisions that underscore democracy. As a result of such processes, the capacity attributable to citizens with regards to protecting the respective interests takes precedence. In addition, it becomes mandatory for rulers to become responsive while indicating an extensive propensity become accountable to the nation’s electorate.
The constitution aims at the achievement of democracy by advocating for aspects which contribute to human dignity. It ascertains that the government fosters the protection of fundamental rights as its primary objective. The rights may extend to economic as well as social provisions which include the acquisition of education as well as health care and opportunities for employment. It also advocates for privileges which culminated in the full development of an individual's personality including freedoms relating to conscience and expression.
The constitution facilitates the prevalence of justice in its various forms under distributive, corrective as well as procedural categories which is integral to the prevalence of democracy (McDonald, 2017) . Distributive justice focuses on allocating commodities socially. Hence, the benefits or even burdens which relate to a given community attract some appropriate allocation. Corrective justice guarantees effective responses where injuries or wrong actions become apparent. In comparison, procedural justice mandates the utilization of fair processes for the acquisition of information. It also underscores the strategies used by various governmental agencies to formulate their respective decisions.
Summary and Conclusion
Democracy should culminate in the protection of the privileges which accrue to a region’s individuals. However, certain aspects mandates and evaluation to increase its effectiveness. As a result, the prerequisites relating to limited government mandate extensive application coupled with its propensity to distribute power while establishing appropriate measures for checks and their accompanying balances. Processes through which citizens cast their votes for the election of their representatives also underscore the prevalence of democracy. However, the tactics used should foster inclusivity while providing a platform for different groups to air their opinions hence facilitating civic education. The American context requires some modification to the legislation facilitating election related processes. Moreover, efforts to register voters increase the propensity to dispense their democratic right. Through the constitution, democracy becomes prevalent while underscoring the sovereignty attributable to a nation's citizens.
References
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