Marc Perkel Rantz

Special Elections Cheat Democracy

Letter to the Editor

I think special elections should be outlawed unless it is to replace an elected official who has died or otherwise hard to leave office. Governments often run special elections to pass issues due to low turnout that wouldn't pass in a regular election. Special elections are a manipulation of the electoral system requiring people to show up for elections that are not on a date that the usually expect to vote. I'm living in California now but I used to live in Springfield Missouri where it was common practice to try to sneak in a tax increase using a special election and hoping that few people will show up to oppose it.

Special elections are designed to subvert democracy and take away control from the people. I consider it to be un-American because I believe that the vote is something sacred. So I always vote against the government in special elections because I assume that if the government is trying to subvert the will of the people then it must be something that will not stand on its own merits. So I urge people in all states to vote against the government in all special elections as a way of preserving our rights as voters.