Democracy in Rural America

Abstract

The conventional wisdom is that rural America has an outsized influence on American politics. Yet, rural residents increasingly feel disempowered, devalued, and divorced from the policy decisions that affect their everyday lives. This Article argues that this widespread political disaffection cannot be entirely explained by rural decline. Such disaffection is also the product of how rural local governments are legally constructed in American law. Focusing on counties and towns, this Article reveals the legal developments that have made these entities poor vehicles for democratic empowerment. It also shows the extent to which the role of counties and towns in rural governance has been displaced by the federal government and the states. The result is that rural residents are not only denied avenues for local self-governance in ways that are different from their urban counterparts, they are also limited in their ability to respond collectively to the challenges facing their communities. From this perspective, addressing the crisis in rural America will require attention be paid to the crisis of rural democracy.

Keywords: local government, federalism, counties, towns, township, democracy, rural