Also known as: democratic decision making · democratically decided · majority rule · participatory governance
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
The processes by which citizens exercise equal rights to vote and influence governmental decisions. Equal protection requires that each citizen's vote carry the same weight in selecting representatives and shaping public policy.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Dorothy Daniels and Diamond Manufacturing disagreed over rezoning a shared parcel. They submitted the question to all affected owners for decision. Each participant cast an equally weighted vote that bound the outcome.
Derek Douglas and fellow residents petitioned the city council after a traffic death. The council submitted the proposed safety ordinance to a public referendum. Citizens cast equally weighted votes that determined whether the rule would be strengthened.
Dustin Donovan lived in a sparsely populated rural district whose voters elected the same number of legislators as a densely populated urban district. He sued, arguing that his vote was diluted. The Court required districts of substantially equal population so that each citizen could participate equally in choosing representatives.
Dylan Duffy, a prosecutor, was sued for allegedly presenting false testimony at trial. The plaintiff argued that immunity should yield to public accountability. The Court held that absolute immunity protects the prosecutor's role in the judicial process, preserving the integrity of democratic decision-making by shielding discretionary judgments.
Demetrius Douglas, a town resident, objected to the practice of opening town board meetings with sectarian prayers led by local clergy. He claimed the practice excluded non-adherents from full participation. The Court upheld the tradition as consistent with historical understandings of legislative prayer that do not coerce participation in democratic decision-making.
Devon Drake challenged a congressional district map that packed opposition voters into a few districts. He argued that the map prevented fair participation in electing representatives. The Court held that partisan gerrymandering claims present political questions beyond judicially manageable standards for enforcing equal democratic decision-making.
No. Equal protection guarantees each citizen an equally weighted vote in selecting representatives, but once representatives are chosen, legislative bodies ordinarily decide by majority rule.
Supporting sources
…not greatly affect the course of public discussion. How different has life been in those states which heretofore followed the majority rule imposing strict liability for misstatements of fact defaming public figures from life in the minority states where the good faith privilege held sway?" See also T. Emerson, The System of…