Broken Ballots: Is Mistrust Being Built Into Our System?

Democracy, unlike other forms of government, has to win the people's trust in order to survive. Representative government will prove brittle, hypocritical, and unattractive unless the popular will translates into some observable impact on how society is governed. The system must prove to the citizens that voting is a real and meaningful exercise of political agency, superior to more coercive or chaotic alternatives.