James Madison Quotes

In a multi-party democracy, many issues which you want - or do not want - will be raised. It is for us to make it relevant or not so relevant with our answers.

The elections are the greatest symbol of participation and political reform.

Votes are something that you earn.

Take it from me: Elections matter.

Apparently, a democracy is a place where numerous elections are held at great cost without issues and with interchangeable candidates.

I enjoyed my stay in the Congress. Most people do not. And too many people who have been elected really don't understand the nature of government.

By 2000, politics will simply fade away. We will not see any political parties.

They have not always elected the best leaders, particularly after a long period in which they have not used this facility of free election. You tend to lose the habit.

And in Canada we, you know, it costs us three or $400 million to have an election. You know, it's always been my position that we shouldn't complain about that; that's the price of admission for a living in a great democracy.

I don't feel responsible for things I didn't vote for.

Spaniards have always shown great maturity and great common sense when it comes to voting.

I'm the one who initiated the democratic process.

The Government and the Parliament, even the House of Lords, will consent to a large increase of electors; and men who have not considered the subject fully will imagine they have gained much by the concession.

Well, I couldn't do the day-to-day stuff of being a politician or anything, but I just think everybody should have an opinion and everybody should vote, and that's what we're built on.

I have a lot of hope for the Constituent Assembly.

Although elections are not perfect tools for democracy, they reinforce the relationship between the people and their leaders, empowering citizens to remove and replace their governments in a peaceful and orderly manner. The only basis for a peaceful society is providing people with the opportunity to express their opinions and their will, and elections are instrumental in doing so.

Voters do not decide issues. They decide who will decide issues.

Elections belong to the people. It is their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.

In a democracy, people usually get the kind of government they deserve, and they deserve what they get.

Voting should be the right of the great body of the society…an inconsiderable proportion, or a favored class of it; otherwise a handful of tyrannical nobles, exercising their oppressions by a delegation of their powers, might aspire to the rank of republicans, and claim for their government the honorable title of republic.

I hold the opinion that it is lawful [for a Muslim] to participate in elections [in non-Islamic countries], as this may reduce suffering, and it is a way to choose the better among the available candidates. I believe participating in elections will, in any event, contribute to the reduction of evil and be a forum for countering bad policies and exposing their deficiencies, as well as being an opportunity to present proposals of a different kind that may help people.

Liberty and equality ... will best be attained when all persons alike share in the government to the utmost.

The fact that a man is to vote forces him to think.

In a new democracy, the most important election is the second election.

Voting is the first duty of democracy.