The Ethics of Electioneering

THE stump is the protean site of democracy. Candidates take positions that follow them into the legislature. Their words, directed at potential voters, can find their way into laws. But if we dwell on the machinery of elections, it’s difficult to make sense of the thought that electioneering—seen as a complex practice—can be more or less democratic. On one leading view, elections are aristocratic in character. Upstream from Election Day is a set of activities that has escaped the scrutiny of democratic theory. There are media appearances, photo-ops, debates, town hall meetings, and the ubiquitous get-out-the-vote. The diversity of these practices can make the omnibus concept, “electioneering,” seem theory-resistant. Deliberative theorists have tended to silo campaigning, treating it as an activity not subject to their proposed rules of talk. Epistemic democrats have considered political systems as a whole, paying little attention to the epistemic function of competitive elections. So we should be wary about