“What does ‘the consent of the governed’ mean when only about half of the electorate shows up to choose our leaders?” the report asked. “Our elected leaders pass laws that affect every aspect of our daily lives. But civic duty voting, as if it sometimes called, is the rule in more than a score of nations, including in Mexico and most of South America. “The democracy movement is literally standing in the midst of a globalized movement for social justice,” said Cornell William Brooks, a Kennedy School professor and former N.A.A.C.P. “What was seen as impossible to discuss five years ago is being discussed now.”

Source: New York Times July 20, 2020 12:02 UTC