We saw why Pike treated the Grounders the way he did, and it was for a completely legitimate reason. I believe at this point Kane was still reeling with his guilt over The Culling on the Ark, after they later found it to be unnecessary, and was trying not to do anything rash that would lead to more needless bloodshed on his part. Pike had a brain, he was actually fairly intelligent, the only reason discussion around him gets murky is because he executed Lincoln.

It was Ice Nation that put things on the course to where Pike was going to preemptively strike against the encampment of other grounders. Ice Nation was terrorizing Farm Station because of where their pod fell, and to Pike and his people this meant that trusting the other Grounders was going to be a struggle, if not impossible. They explain perfectly that if it was not for Pike's leadership, Farm Station would have stood no chance whatsoever. Pike winning the election was definitely the deciding factor, and I believe that was Kane's call. Is answer to Pike was to let all of Arkadia choose. It actually was about democracy.