Why American Democracy Lasted 250 Years
Why American Democracy Lasted 250 Years By Robert Korczynski Between odd-year voting for local municipal elections, even-year voting for the House and Senate, and the Electoral College for the presidency, the United States operates with three distinct governing models inherited directly from ancient Greece and Rome. Depending on which office is on the ballot, power is allocated through an ancient property-owner direct assembly, an aristocratic Roman-style representative republic, or a mechanical lottery system that ancient Athenians would instantly recognize as sortition. The first tier operates quietly at the local level. Research from the Sightline Institute and the MIT Election Data and Science Lab analyzing more than 25,000 local governments nationwide shows that roughly 60% to 75% of municipalities hold their elections off-cycle, either in odd-numbered years or on separate spring and summer dates. By scheduling municipal, school board, and mayoral elections away from the...