Garry Wills Quotes

Everybody expects that their vote's going to count.

… a near revolutionary change in the democratic process

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

We already have term limits. They’re called elections.

I actually don't believe in governance by referendum. I believe that we have a democracy, that we elect people to make decisions.

I have come to the conclusion that the 22nd Amendment [limiting the presidency to two terms] was a mistake. Shouldn't the people have the right to vote for someone as many times as they want to vote for him?

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

The rational and peaceable instrument of reform, the suffrage of the people.

Elected representatives are so embedded in the basic notion of what constitutes a democratic nation that it has become indistinguishable from any other form of democratic governance.

I trust Canadians' capacity to determine who will sit in their Parliament.

It is unfortunate that people believe that in order to democratise something you have to get politicians out of the system.

People are free to campaign and they will be free to vote. There won't be any soldiers, you know, at the queues. Anyone who has the right to vote is free to go and cast his vote anywhere in his own area, in his own constituency.

I shall ask no more than that you agree with Dean Inge that even though counting heads is not an ideal way to govern, at least it is better than breaking them.

In America, unlike England, unlike Israel, unlike Japan, other democracies, we have elections that have staggered terms.

In our democracy, political parties have to raise funds to campaign and put their policies to the electorate, and as a proud supporter of the Labour Party, I am happy to be in a position where I can make a contribution to its ongoing work.

People may be due the benefits of a democratic electoral process. But in the United States, content curators appropriately have a First Amendment right to present their content as they see fit.

Organising free and fair elections is more important than the result itself.

To make democracy work, we must be a notion of participants, not simply observers. One who does not vote has no right to complain.

In a democracy, supposedly we hold power by what we do at the ballot box, so therefore the more we know about political power the better our choices should be and the better, in theory, our democracy should be.

There are different ways to get responsive government leaders but one of the more effective ways is to have them democratically elected.

Logically, in a society ostensibly grounded on representative government, it would seem reasonable that a majority of the people in a State would elect a majority of that State’s legislators.

Polls make leadership impossible.

Wherever you have votes, you have power.

In England, a Majority of Citizens does not elect the Majority of Representatives.

Universal suffrage exists in the United States without producing any frightful consequences.