Elections & Districts

There are many things that annoy me about elections in this country. I don’t like not trusting the results of close elections due to unreliability of voting systems or the potential of playing games with voters’ access to the polls. I don’t like the fact that folks in power can almost perpetuate their power by how some lines are drawn on a map. I don’t like how our country is governed by a majority-of-majorities, while opposing ideas can too-easily be rendered impotent.

To that end, if I could wave my magic wand, there are some changes I would make.

The details follow, but the high points are:

• I would like to see congressmen and senators drawn from “superdistricts”. This could be as simple as having two folks elected from any one district, with voters only being able to cast a vote for one candidate. I’d further expand this to permit folks to run in more than one district, meaning that a geographically spread minority party or minority ethnic group could still get “their” representative elected if he/she could draw enough votes from a broad enough area.
   
  (Yes, I’m aware of some reformers’ belief that instant-runoff-voting as being a vast improvement over what we have today. I don’t think that IRV is sufficient to address the concerns of disenfranchisement of minority views, or to alleviate the current need for district-drawing to not be race/ethnicity blind.)
   
• I do like the concept of the Electoral College, as a means to ensure that anyone elected President has a “broad enough” base of support. However, I would end the winner-take-all system, partly because I think it’s unfair, and partly for reasons defined by other elements of my idea.
   
• Given how our country has developed, I question whether making House and Senate representation state-based is still necessary. Why should folks in Wyoming and North Dakota have more political power on a per-capita basis than people in California? I would like to see House districts drawn without regard to state lines, and I would like to see my superdistrict idea applied to the Senate, providing a state a guarantee of only one Senator from that state, rather than the current two.
   
• I would like to see a prohibition on gerrymandering. With the advent of computer mapping programs, it should be very realistic to require that districts have equal populations while minimizing the length of district boundaries (creating small, round districts in urban centers, and “boxy” districts in rural areas).

The specifics:

1. House of Representatives

1a. House is made up of 2n members, drawn from n districts (n set by Congress, but at least 217).

1b. House districts shall be designated after each decennial census, such that the voting population within each district is as equal as practical, and such that the length of the boundaries of each district is as small as possible. District boundaries may cross state lines. The District of Columbia will be included within one or more House districts.

1c. House members are elected for two-year terms.

1d. To get on the ballot for the House, you need a petition signed by 1000 registered voters from that district.

1e. An individual may run in multiple districts; residency is not required.

1f. A voter may cast a vote for one House candidate each election.

1g. For each Congressional district, the candidate who obtains the greatest number of votes in that district is elected. All remaining vacancies are filled from the remaining candidates who have the greatest number of votes.

1h. If a mid-term vacancy arises, the highest vote-getter who was not elected is tapped to fill the vacancy.

2. Senate

2a. Senate is made up of 2n members, drawn from the n states.

2b. Senate members are elected for six-year terms, with one third of the membership up for election each two-year election cycle.

2c. Ballot access requirements are equivalent to those for the House.

2d. For one-third of the states (rotating each election), the highest vote-getter from that state is elected. Senate votes are held countrywide, regardless of whether the state is up in the rotation.

2e. All remaining vacancies are filled from the remaining candidates who have the greatest number of votes.

2f. If a mid-term vacancy arises, the highest vote-getter who was not elected is tapped to fill the vacancy until the next Senate election.

2g. The Senate may decide the order of states in rotation, and it may decide whether the District of Columbia is considered a state or a part of Maryland for purposes of determining the size of the Senate and the rotation order.

3. Electoral College

3a. Voters shall select one elector to represent the state they reside in, and voters shall elect two electors to represent the congressional district they reside in. (Treatment of the District of Columbia for Electoral College purposes shall be consistent with its treatment in the Senate.)

3b. The candidate who receives the greatest number of electoral votes is elected President.

3c. If the individual elected to the Presidency dies before inauguration or while in office, the individual elected Vice-President succeeds to the Presidency, and the Senate candidate who received the greatest number of votes in the most recent election is elevated to Vice-President.

4. Conduct of Federal Elections

4a. In any election for Federal office, votes shall be cast by making marks on paper in a manner in which the voter can confirm that his vote has been marked correctly, and in which it is possible to tally the votes by hand. Machines may be used to assist in recording and counting the votes, but the voter-verified paper ballot shall be the official vote cast.

4b. “The right to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States, any State, or any other public or private person or entity, except that the United States or any State may establish regulations narrowly tailored to produce efficient and honest elections.” (plagiarized from a voting rights amendment proposed in 2005)

4c. Voters may register to vote at the polling place on the day of election.

4d. States shall make a good faith effort to advise registered voters by mail of the location of their polling place in advance of the election

4e. States shall make a good faith effort to advise previously-registered voters if their registration has been rescinded. States shall provide sufficient opportunity for such individuals to appeal the change before the election.

4f. Any registered voter may cast a vote in any government-funded primary election for federal office. Party membership may not be a prerequisite in casting a vote for a particular race.