Republic or democracy

Is the United States a republic, democracy, or both? I have seen a lot of this online. Democrats refer to our country as a democracy. Republicans counter by insisting that we are a republic. Democrats then call people stupid for not realizing that a republic is a form of democracy.

I have generally stayed out of this discussion because both sides are sort of right, and the flaws are somewhat complicated to explain. I have decided to finally explain my views on this particular discussion.

Before I go any further, what is a democracy? What is a republic? This can get tricky because there are multiple definitions people have thrown around, and there are some signs that definitions have shifted over the years. I will explain how I view these terms. This alone will create some disagreements. Keep in mind that I will use my personal preferences throughout this document.

A republic is a representative government. Government decisions are primarily made by people who were selected to represent them by the general population. Most republics select representatives through elections, which provides an overlap with democracy.

A democracy is a government where the people get to vote. Most democracies don't want to burden the people with every decision made by the government, so they typically include elections for representatives. This results in an overlap with republics.

We elect our leaders. The Constitution even includes laws relating to elections. An argument can certainly be made that we are a republic with democratic values. Technically speaking, I don't think that's enough to label our country as a democracy.

Even viewing our country as a republic has problems. There are unelected members of our nation's government making important decisions. Especially noteworthy in this regard is the judicial branch.

Another potential issue is the Senate. The Senate was set up to provide equality among states rather than people. All 50 states have the people of the state elect senators, but is that enough to qualify as representing the people?

Although we may not be a total republic, I believe we qualify as a republic. What about democracy? Although the federal government has election laws, we do not have any truly federal elections. All these elections are technically state elections, with different rules for each state. Even if all 50 states qualify as a democracy, that doesn't make the country itself a democracy.

One way that people might counter this argument is by pointing out that representatives and senators are federal officials who are elected. That's true, but they are technically elected at the state level. Each state holds elections to determine who the state sends to D C. to represent their citizens.

What about presidential elections? A lot of people struggle with this due to a misunderstanding of how presidential elections work. In the United States, the people do not elect the president. Instead, we vote for electors. It has become a common practice to vote for a pool of electors based on the candidates to which they are bound. In fact, states put the name of the presidential and vice presidential candidates on ballots instead of the electors. In the end, we are voting in state elections to determine who the state selects to elect the president in the real presidential election.

Do we qualify as a democracy? I honestly don't see how a nation without any federal elections qualifies. We may have democratic values, but the country itself is not a democracy. Instead, our federal government is being fed by 50 democracies.