- Oct 2, 2011
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What has been true for some time has become more and more abundantly clear.
America is in desperate need for major reform in how it does democracy.
To that end, I can think of a number of serious reforms that ought to be carried out.
1) We must eliminate First-Past-the-Post. A concern very early on in American history was the problem of American politics degenerating into a two-party system. Which happened almost immediately. The United States has endured a two-party system almost since the beginning, while the identities of the parties have changed, the fundamental problem has not. There are systems of voting in which we can eliminate this. I am not, necessarily, arguing against the formation of political parties themselves--but there are certainly ways to defeat this long-standing bogeyman of a two-party system. A ranked voting system in which voters, rather than voting only for a single candidate in an election, are given the ability to rank their preferences on a ballot. This would also address the much lamented "choosing the lesser of two evils" approach that many take, where rather than choosing who you want, voters choose on the basis of who they don't want. Ranked voting would allow voters to rank their preferences, so while a person may prefer Candidate X as their first choice, they may choose Candidate Y as their second, as such while perhaps Candidate X may not receive the highest number of votes, the ability to choose Candidate Y as a secondary choice, who may still win, results in an outcome that is closer to the will of the electorate. In such a system the will of the electorate becomes a priority. This, arguably, would allow voters to choose and rank from a plurality of parties, and even independents.
2) End gerrymandering. It is abundantly clear that a bicameral system in which Congress consists of both senators and representatives requires representatives of districts, that some sort of districting is necessary. The problem, of course, is that gerrymandering has become a tool of partisan redistricting that can, quite often, disenfranchise voters. This may require a deep reform and restructuring of how the States have members elected to the Congress. I do not have an immediate answer of address to this problem, though I wonder if a ranked voting system as proposed above, may serve in some way to mitigate this issue.
3) Supreme Justices ought to have term limits.
4) Members of Congress, ought to have limits on number of terms they may serve.
5) No person in the United States, without exception, ought to be beyond the scope of the law. Even a sitting president ought to be liable and culpable. The law must stand above each and all persons, regardless of position or station or status.
These are the 5 I can, off the top of my head, think of.
America is in desperate need for major reform in how it does democracy.
To that end, I can think of a number of serious reforms that ought to be carried out.
1) We must eliminate First-Past-the-Post. A concern very early on in American history was the problem of American politics degenerating into a two-party system. Which happened almost immediately. The United States has endured a two-party system almost since the beginning, while the identities of the parties have changed, the fundamental problem has not. There are systems of voting in which we can eliminate this. I am not, necessarily, arguing against the formation of political parties themselves--but there are certainly ways to defeat this long-standing bogeyman of a two-party system. A ranked voting system in which voters, rather than voting only for a single candidate in an election, are given the ability to rank their preferences on a ballot. This would also address the much lamented "choosing the lesser of two evils" approach that many take, where rather than choosing who you want, voters choose on the basis of who they don't want. Ranked voting would allow voters to rank their preferences, so while a person may prefer Candidate X as their first choice, they may choose Candidate Y as their second, as such while perhaps Candidate X may not receive the highest number of votes, the ability to choose Candidate Y as a secondary choice, who may still win, results in an outcome that is closer to the will of the electorate. In such a system the will of the electorate becomes a priority. This, arguably, would allow voters to choose and rank from a plurality of parties, and even independents.
2) End gerrymandering. It is abundantly clear that a bicameral system in which Congress consists of both senators and representatives requires representatives of districts, that some sort of districting is necessary. The problem, of course, is that gerrymandering has become a tool of partisan redistricting that can, quite often, disenfranchise voters. This may require a deep reform and restructuring of how the States have members elected to the Congress. I do not have an immediate answer of address to this problem, though I wonder if a ranked voting system as proposed above, may serve in some way to mitigate this issue.
3) Supreme Justices ought to have term limits.
4) Members of Congress, ought to have limits on number of terms they may serve.
5) No person in the United States, without exception, ought to be beyond the scope of the law. Even a sitting president ought to be liable and culpable. The law must stand above each and all persons, regardless of position or station or status.
These are the 5 I can, off the top of my head, think of.
