My friend Tom sent me five suggestions for fixing our system of electing presidents. Here are what he wrote, with a few small changes to fit the format of the blog:
This presidential election result is more strong evidence that we need to
1. amend the Constitution to replace the state-based electoral college system with a nationwide direct popular-majority-vote method; and
2. guarantee access to ballots and public debates for all political parties having several thousand active registered members (such as the Green Party); and
3. mandate purple thumb inking for all voters; and
4. provide paper ballots instead of electronic machines that leave no paper trail; and
5. insure full transparency, free and easy public access to all rules and records, of
all aspects of the election process.
Of course in the primary election process parties would still continue to act, as parties do, according to their own rules, to select their nominees for the general election.
Had the first suggestion been adopted, of course, Clinton would be our president-elect. I would amend the second one to suggest that a party recognized in at least ten states would be included in the debates. As for the third suggestion, to ink thumbs for voters to prevent fraud, I was ridiculed at a California legislative hearing when I suggested this, but I still like the idea.
The fourth suggestion is also important, especially if we go to a direct popular vote system. Incidentally, the Carbon County Commissioners have publicly agreed to this in principle when they purchase new voting machines. The fifth suggestions of full transparency, is a no-brainer.
All five suggestions have a lot of merit.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the electoral college, we don't need an amendment to rid the country of the electoral college. If you go to this site on Wikipedia, you can see that we need about a dozen more states to pass legislation of the National Popular interstate compact.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact
In Illinois our voting machines have a paper trail When you have completed casting your votes, You can scroll through the viewer and see your vote being printed for each page. After all the voting is done it is compounded by the board of elections and if necessary it can be hand counted. States without this feature are open to voter fraud.
I have heard about the Electoral College compact, and think it is a good idea, but I have a feeling that unless we do it with an amendment, some states will ignore the legislation. If I remember correctly (and I may not) to be an interstate compact with force, the
ReplyDeletefederal government has to approve. Still, I think it is worth trying.