Time for another thinking-out-loud post…<\/p>\n
My Dad and I have been having a lot of discussions over the course of the past few weeks about that big bad beast we’re faced with this year: the elections. Our general conclusion is that there are some problems with the way that we elect the members of the executive branch.<\/p>\n
So, some thoughts, and then I hope that there’s a least a little bit of discussion.<\/p>\n
Term Limits<\/b><\/p>\n
We currently have a law on the books saying that a President can only serve two terms before it’s time for him or her to step aside to let someone else try their hand at running the country. Unfortunately, this means that the fourth year of a sitting President’s first term is an utter waste as he or she focuses more on getting reelected than on doing what they feel needs to get done. How many times have you heard that something is not “an election year issue”?<\/p>\n
To that end, I propose that we set a term limit of one term. That takes away the bother of reelection politics so that, one can hope, the President would do his or her job for the entirety of his or her term. Currently terms last four years, which seems a reasonable amount of time to me, but perhaps an easier transition from a two-term limit to a one-term limit would be to effectively split the difference and make the single term last six years.<\/p>\n
The Electoral College<\/b><\/p>\n
Why do we have one? It’s an anachronistic quirk that doesn’t really serve a legitimate purpose any longer. Getting rid of the Electoral College would, of course, change the way that elections were run because a politician could no longer simply do the electoral math straight into the White House. But really, what’s so difficult about “one person, one vote”?<\/p>\n
Required Voting<\/b><\/p>\n
Citizens who take advantage of the benefits of citizenship (so, everyone really, what with our system of law and socialized roads) should be required to participate in the governmental system they take advantage of.<\/p>\n
The “No” Vote<\/b><\/p>\n
One interesting idea that my dad put forth, that I haven’t thought through the implications of, is that when voting for offices there should be a “None of the above” option. If you don’t like the candidates put to you, why can’t you reject them at the ballot box without having to vote for a different, “throwaway” candidate.<\/p>\n
As I understand it, in some places this is a ballot option.<\/p>\n
Alternative Forms of Voting<\/b><\/p>\n
There’s instant run-off voting, there’s a prime minister system as used in Britain, there’s other options. What do you think? Or is our electoral system not in need of any changes??.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Time for another thinking-out-loud post… My Dad and I have been having a lot of discussions over the course of the past few weeks about that big bad beast we’re faced with this year: the elections. Our general conclusion is … Continue reading