Democracy is the only system that persists in asking the powers that be whether they are the powers that ought to be.

—Sydney J. Harris

A citizen of America will cross the ocean to fight for democracy, but won’t cross the street to vote in an election.

—Bill Vaughan

It’s not the voting that’s democracy; it’s the counting.

—Tom Stoppard

Hell, I never vote for anybody, I always vote against.                     

—W.C. Fields

Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote.

—George Jean Nathan

Democracy is being allowed to vote for the candidate you dislike least.            

—Robert Byrne

Our political institutions work remarkably well. They are designed to clang against each other. The noise is democracy at work.

 —Michael Novak

A politician should have three hats. One for throwing into the ring, one for talking through, and one for pulling rabbits out of if elected.                                                                                                                         

—Carl Sandburg

I’m tired of hearing it said that democracy doesn’t work. Of course it doesn’t work. We are supposed to work it.

—Alexander Woollcott

People often say that, in a democracy, decisions are made by a majority of the people. Of course, that is not true. Decisions are made by a majority of those who make themselves heard and who vote — a very different thing.           

—Walter H. Judd

If God wanted us to vote, he would have given us candidates.

—Jay Leno

Truth is not determined by majority vote.                                         

—Doug Gwyn

Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule — and both commonly succeed, and are right.                                                           

—H.L. Mencken

In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.

—Charles de Gaulle

There are many men of principle in both parties in America, but there is no party of principle.

—Alexis de Tocqueville