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Free Elections AFFIn a country in which the voice of the people cannot be expressed, there is no room for dissent.When there is no room for dissent, there is no place for reform. When there is no place for reform, there is no hope for overturning corrupt governments. For this reason, a government'slegitimacy is determined more by its respect for popular sovereignty than individual rights.

Definitions:Government - the system or form by which a community or other political unit is governed[Princeton University]

Legitimacy authenticity; undisputed credibility[Princeton University]

Popular sovereignty - the doctrine that sovereign power is vested in the people and that thosechosen to govern, as trustees of such power, must exercise it in conformity with the general will[Random House Dictionary, 2010].

Individual rights the right to life, liberty, and security of person[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]

My value is political choice . There is nothing as valuable as the ability to pick our leaders. To paraphrase Thoreau, a just government is one which is ruled by the consent of the governed. Thereason we broke off from England and created our own nation is because we were notrepresented in their government. The ability to choose politicians is essential.

Contention 1: Popular sovereignty leads to legitimacyIt is my belief that popular sovereignty leads to legitimacy because popular sovereignty is thekey element of having free elections, which determines a governments legitimacy.

So first, lets examine the fact that popular sovereignty is the key to elections. As James Petrassaid in 2005, Without national independence or popular sovereignty, free elections have no

political significance or positive outcome for the voters. In order for free elections to occur theabsolute minimum conditions demand that the populaces (citizens) are sovereign: The candidates,

parties and electoral process emerge from the give and take ; of the citizens of the country. Popular sovereignty canonly occur if a country is independent, that the only governing authority is not beholden to a foreign power.[James Petras is a retired Bartle Professor (Emeritus) of Sociology at Binghamton University , SUNY , New York , U.S. , and adjunct professor at Saint Mary's University , Halifax , Nova Scotia , Canada who has published prolifically on Latin Americanand Middle Eastern political issues. He holds a B.A. from Boston University and Ph.D. from the University of California at

Berkeley; this quote comes from an article in Counter Punch, a political magazine devote to examining society]

It is impossible to hold elections without popular sovereignty. Like Petras said, if we have anyelections, it demands that popular sovereignty exists. Popular sovereignty is key to free elections. Now lets use the words of Jean DAspremont in his book, Legitimacy of Governments. Heessentially says that a governments legitimacy is determined by whether or not the country hasfree elections.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binghamton_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binghamton_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUNYhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Yorkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Yorkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Yorkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mary's_University,_Halifaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mary's_University,_Halifaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_(former_city),_Nova_Scotiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_(former_city),_Nova_Scotiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_Scotiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_Scotiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binghamton_Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SUNYhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Yorkhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Mary's_University,_Halifaxhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_(former_city),_Nova_Scotiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nova_Scotiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sociology

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Jean DAspremont 2007 Legitimacy of Governments in the Age of DemocracyIndeed, the idea that democracy is the only acceptable type of regime has gained broadsupport, even monopolizing the political discourse (despite a lingering disagreement about its accurate meaning). This evolutionhas been underpinned by the common belief that democracy bolsters peace and prosperity, and even quellsterrorism. This systematic condemnation of coups against democratic governments surely buttresses the strongcommitment of the international community to democracy. Since the end of the Cold War, therefore , theexternal legitimacy of an authority has come to depend almost entirely upon its democraticcharacter . The idea of a government based on the will of the people expressed in periodic andgenuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent freevoting procedureswhich during the Cold War had been loosely interpreted by states to legitimize any sort of government isnow understood to require a democratic political regime. Thus, there is little doubt today that democracy has become a

prominent yardstick with which to assess the legitimacy of governmentsSince the end of theCold War, recognition of governments that have overthrown a democratically electedgovernment is nearly always systematically refused, as is illustrated by the reactions following the coupsin Sierra Leone, Haiti, Burundi, Niger, Ivory Coast, Guinea Bissau, and Togo.

Contention 2: Popular sovereignty is the only way to protect rights

a. Bill of Rights ratificationWithout a doubt, one of the greatest documents supporting individual rights is the Bill of Rights.It is the foundation on which we protect our citizens from human rights violations, and it has

been a model of rights protection for the rest of the world. Could the Bill of Rights have beenratified without popular sovereignty? The answer is no. From November 20 th, 1789 to December 15, 1791, New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland, South Carolina, New Hampshire, Delaware,

New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia ratified the Bill of Rights. Theseeleven states ratified the Bill; only fourteen states existed at the time. Thus, the democratic votefor the Bill of Rights was 11 to 4 in favor of upholding individual rights. Popular sovereignty,made legitimate through free elections, created the document that allows us to protect individualrights in the first place. The very foundation of individual rights was founded upon a democratic

vote: popular sovereignty as it exists in free elections. We should realize that popular sovereigntyis the foundation that we must value, and affirm the Resolution.

b. Popular sovereignty legally protects rightsWhen we wanted to give Blacks the civil right to vote, what did we do? We amended the Bill of Rights. Right now there is debate about whether or not gays have the right to marry. If they do,the Bill of Rights will be amended to include this civil right. The Bill of Rights is the only way inAmerica to recognize rights. The Bill of Rights can only be amended through popular sovereignty. Think back to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was popular sovereignty that passedthat bill, and it was popular sovereignty that gave us a 14 th Amendment. If we dont have popular sovereignty, we cant recognize our individual rights. For that reason, the legitimacy and origin

of a government isnt determined by individual rights, but rather the starting point: popular sovereignty.