The magazine of the North Carolina Center for Voter Education • Saturday May 19, 2012

For Voters, Knowledge is Power

By Damon Circosta
Published: Apr. 19, 2011

RALEIGH - There is a saying among reformers that there is no shortage of election experts down at the state legislature.

While most elected officials do not have advanced degrees in political science, or specialized training in election law, they all are veterans of political campaigns. Politicians know how the election rules work much like a chef knows about knives or a plumber knows about pipe wrenches. In other words, politicians have a very practical working knowledge of our election code.

You might think that having so many election experts would be a blessing. With all that practical experience in the room there should be very little chance that changes to our election system would have unintended consequences.

Actually, it is precisely the election expertise of our lawmakers that is often a barrier to good public policy. Because they know the rules inside and out, there is always a temptation to use that knowledge to subtly grease the wheels in favor of their side’s election efforts.

This is not a trait exclusive to Republicans or Democrats. The temptation is always there for whoever is in charge and it takes an extremely civic-minded public servant to resist throwing a thumb on the scale.

After all, no one runs for office because they want to champion election-administration reform. People get involved because they care about issues like the economy or the environment, not the mundane topics related to the election process itself. In a society that focuses on outcomes, no one really cares much about the process.

What we are learning is that when it comes to election reform, process matters. Currently before the N.C. General Assembly is legislation that would change identification requirements for voters, reconsider if judges should run in partisan elections and redraw voting district boundaries. While each of these bills -- if done correctly -- could result in an election process that is fair and accessible, there is the potential that our representatives could use their familiarity with the election system to tilt the playing field in their favor.

In order to keep this from happening, we must equip ourselves with a working knowledge of the political process. This doesn’t mean we all need to become election lawyers or policy wonks. But we do need to understand basic civics and take an interest in our state government.

As the Greek statesman Pericles said, “Just because you do not take an interest politics, does not mean politics won’t take an interest in you.” What happens in our state legislature, while at times seemingly dry and obscure, in reality can greatly affect our lives and the lives of our families.

Often we are only motivated to take an interest in politics when something angers us. But checking into the political process at other times is a good habit to develop.

If you can’t visit the capital, you can learn about what’s happening in Raleigh by listening to live and archived audio of the legislature at VoterRadio.com or watch video of many of the proceedings at WRAL.com. Hopefully someday soon legislative sessions will also be televised across the state, much like C-SPAN.

Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Whenever the people are well-informed, they can be trusted with their own government.”

It’s good to have our politicians know things about the subjects on which they legislate. We want competence and expertise. But as citizens, we had better learn enough to keep up with them, lest they use their knowledge to pull a fast one on us.