Tomorrow our nation will choose our president, dozens of federal representatives, and hundreds of state and local officials. As Americans, it's a day we should be proud of. Unlike many other countries around the world, our country hosts peaceful, orderly elections every two years.
Powered by the principles laid out in our Constitution, We the People have the right to have our voices heard and decide who will represent us. While the federal government is in need of several long-term reforms to limit its power and balance its checkbook, the overall system our Founders designed has allowed our country to become prosperous, law-abiding, and free.
But what did the Founders have to say about voting? How did they recommend the American people choose their representatives?
Consider this advice from John Adams:
We electors have an important constitutional power placed in our hands; we have a check upon two branches of the legislature . . . the power I mean of electing at stated periods [each] branch. . . . It becomes necessary to every [citizen] then, to be in some degree a statesman, and to examine and judge for himself of the tendency of political principles and measures. Let us examine, then, with a sober, a manly . . . and a Christian spirit; let us neglect all party [loyalty] and advert to facts; let us believe no man to be infallible or impeccable in government any more than in religion; take no man’s word against evidence, nor implicitly adopt the sentiments of others who may be deceived themselves, or may be interested in deceiving us.
Echoing John Adams' sentiment, Samuel Adams called voting "one of the most solemn trusts in human society for which he is accountable to God and his country."
John Jay pointed out that American were unique in the world in our ability to choose our own leaders:
The Americans are the first people whom Heaven has favored with an opportunity of deliberating upon and choosing the forms of government under which they should live.
The Founders, in short, believed that American citizens have a duty to vote with thoughtfulness and intentionality. We have received a rich inheritance from previous generations, men and women who protected our constitutional republic and gave us the ability to make our voices heard. It's our obligation to use that inheritance wisely and pass it on to future generations.
That's why we're encouraging all of our supporters to get out and vote. Vote for the candidates who represent your values and become the statesman that John Adams wanted all Americans to be.
