When election results no longer matter in a place, democracy no longer inhabits that place. To preserve, protect and defend democracy in America, I would suggest that every would-be candidate be encouraged to state, before their election, whether they will respect the will of the voters or reserve the right to cry “rigged.”

What once went without saying now needs to be made explicit. The existence of democracy depends upon the willingness of those who lose elections to accept the will of the people and go home.

The old-fashioned, patriotic thing to do when you lost was to make a concession speech that ended with a promise to work with the new incumbent for the good of the whole community. Even if that gracious termination to an election can no longer happen in this era of demonized culture war adversaries — claiming that if you do not win, the contest must have been corrupt is the end of voting and of democracy. It has to be stopped.

William Rowley

Florence