Toward a More Perfect Union: A Prescriptive Approach — Elections & Elective Offices
I. Elections and Elective Offices
Voting:
Prerequisites:
- A strong Democratic/Independent majority in both House and Senate
- A Progressive President
Proposals:
- Pass amendment to remove electoral college, which at least 3 times (1876, 2000, 2016) allowed a minority candidate to assume the presidency. The first was disastrous for Reconstruction and the possibility of racial harmony; the second for fomenting an unnecessary war and destroying our economy; the third for the most corrupt, ill-informed, and dangerous president in our history. A side-benefit of removing the electoral college would be that presidential candidates would have to pay attention to all voters, not just those in “battleground” states.
- Set up voting on a federal rules – rather than state rules – with uniform criteria and oversight, so that all citizens have equal access to the ballot.
- Make voting registration automatic upon:
- Citizen’s attainment of age 18, or
- Naturalization
This would have the side-benefit of making registration uniform, simple, and uncontroversial; citizenship would already be established under this procedure.
- Requiring the showing of an ID to verify one’s identity would be permissible, but that ID cannot be limited to driver’s license (which many do not have) but would have to include such photo ID’s as student cards or employment cards. For unemployed, retired or disabled citizens, a voter card photo-ID should be made available at no cost to the voter if requested. It would be practical to issue a voter ID card to all voters and thus avoid all the difficulty of adjudicating which ID’s are acceptable.
- For those who change location and have not notified the appropriate authorities, the use of a provisional ballot would be the most practical solution.
- Prisoners who have served their time and been released – and who are citizens – would be eligible to vote. Note: since legislation regarding imprisonment is a political process, it is appropriate to argue that even incarcerated prisoners should have a say in their elected officials.
- Adapt voting rules in the following ways:
- Insure that advanced voting and voting by mail are simplified and equally accessible to all citizens and that ample time is allowed for these to be accomplished.
- Make voting mandatory by assigning a fine (perhaps in the $25-$50 range) for failure to vote. Oversight of this process would be funded by that fine. (Special circumstances could be arranged for those unable to vote through no fault of their own.) It should be noted that in some representative democracies, such as Australia, the idea of a non-voting fine is already in place and functioning well.
- Allow citizens to avoid a fine by opting out of voting by signing a waiver. Those citizens would be able to vote in a later election by rescinding their opt-out decision by an appropriate date.
- A better way to simplify the process and reduce costs would be to make all voting by mail (in the manner of Oregon’s practice.) To inhibit fraud, the mail-in ballots could require a signature provided under penalty of perjury. This practice would obviate the need for polling stations and all the effort/expense that goes into manning and supplying them, and the savings can be applied to providing postage in both directions. This would also benefit the USPS, the only commercial enterprise mandated by our Constitution.
Whichever methods are used, a paper record needs to be kept in the effort to insure that elections are open and honest. In closely contested elections where there is no paper record and where no one has conceded, that election must be declared void and must be re-run, but with a paper record. In the end, the practice of paperless elections needs to be ended for good.
It has been argued by some that only the most informed voters should be allowed in polling places. It is certainly true that all too many people vote without knowing the candidates or the issues, but to weed them out would be impossible. It is also undemocratic. (To a certain extent, this was tried and failed in the early days of our republic, when you had to be a landowner, male, white, and able-bodied.) It is better to require all to vote, and the uninformed votes would be more likely to cancel each other out.
While most of this may seem “pie-in-the-sky,” the idea of representative government was similarly unheard-of in 1776. Likewise, until it was passed, Obamacare was also “pie-in-the-sky” until it also showed its popularity.
Continued in Part 3 — Gerrymandering & Courts
Other options:
Return to Part 1 — Prologue
Go to Part 4 — Congress
Go to Part 5 — President and DOJ
Go to Part 6 — Campaign Financing
Go to Part 7 — Lying and Ethics
Go to Part 8 — Sexism and LGBT
Go to Part 9 — Abortion & Church/State
Go to Part 10 — Guns
Go to Part 11 — Healthcare & VA
Go to Part 12 — Big Pharma
Go to Part 13 — Environment
Go to Part 14 — Energy
Go to Part 15 — Education
Go to Part 16 — Economics
Go to Part 17 — Unions, Safety Net
Go to Part 18 — Homelessness
Go to Part 19 — Trade, Tariffs
Go to Part 20 — Media
Go to Part 21 — War, National Security
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Above is the second of numerous submissions wherein I suggest ways our country, our government, and the world can be made better. I am an old fart in my 70’s and have seen much: the turmoil of the 1960’s; Vietnam (where I served as an infantry officer and was awarded a purple heart and other medals); the anti-Vietnam protests (in which I participated while still in uniform); Watergate, the rise of the right wing attack on the poor and powerless during and after the Reagan years; the continued wars in Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan and pretty much everywhere else; the Clinton years, the invasion of Iraq in 2002 and the never-ending war since, the brief glow of sunshine during the Obama years, and now Trump. While my dog in this fight is getting long in the tooth, I still deeply care about three things: my country, my country’s honor, and the future we leave to our descendants. My personal history, other than military service, includes college teaching, computer support, hospital IT supervision, consulting, and now — in my retirement — substitute teaching.
I make my recommendations in all seriousness, recognizing that most of them are not immediately attainable. Nevertheless, if we elect people who share our values as our representatives at all levels of government, we can accomplish much.