When you cast a vote for your chosen candidate, you are not only making your voice heard in one of our most cherished civic rituals but also endorsing the fundamental principle of democratic accountability, according to which, government officials are expected to be answerable to the people. Ensuring that the people remain in control of the government was a primary political aim of the Revolutionary generation, and its achievement has been a gift to each generation thereafter.

But in recent decades, Americans’ faith in that accountability has been shaken, justifiably. We’ve seen unelected bureaucrats make decisions and implement policies that undermine the choices of elected representatives, and the problem has gotten worse with time.

Thankfully, the U.S. Constitution has a solution — an often-overlooked but powerful tool for ensuring accountability for unelected officials: the separation-of-powers provision known as the Appointments Clause.