Opinion | Democracy is working as the Constitution intended

In our governmental systems, the people stand outside the government yet have ultimate control over who should represent them and to what purposes. President Donald Trump’s attacks on the legitimacy of the election process did not stop democracy from functioning, as confirmed by the state of Georgia’s response.

Second, the fact that minorities can exercise outsize influence on politics and leadership isn’t an inevitable consequence of the structure of the Constitution. Representative democracy fails when the people abuse the responsibilities inherent in their delegation of their authority to their elected representatives, essentially abandoning the aspirations stated in the Preamble to the Constitution. The distrust of and dissatisfaction with the government are of the people’s own making.

As demonstrated in the outcomes of last year’s abortion referendum in Kansas and this month’s Ohio referendum on amending the state’s constitution, nothing hinders or stops people from ultimately making their voices heard and votes counted.

Equally important is the interplay between the national and federal character of the Constitution, which simultaneously provides for its supreme authority and limits its powers in relation to state and municipal governments. The Constitution was intended to provide permanence with respect to its purpose and powers; its foundation and the extent of its powers recognize implicitly the authority the people place in their state governments. Accordingly, the basis for the amendment process was to ensure this permanence and remain faithful to the sources of the Constitution’s authority.

Andrew Labadie, Washington