How to Save American Democracy and the Current Electoral System!
Richard J. Garfunkel
10-29-16
The Open or the Universal Primary System, which is now in use in California, should be adopted by all states and should be used in all elections from Governor to the local level. This system calls for a run-off system of the top two candidates if a candidate does not reach 50% of the vote in the first round. The Open Primary allows any registered voter, not matter how they are registered, to vote. This allows Independents and others to determine who will be elected. Even if it is a one-party state or state assembly district, anyone can run and it eliminates the current system where often 5% of the dominant party’s electorate chooses their “unopposed” candidate in the general election. This would basically eliminate or reduce the “out of proportion” influence of “splinter” factions in both parties. In an Open election, any number of candidates, of either or no party can participate.
The Presidential Election process should institute these reforms immediately. The Primary system should be moved to no earlier than May and the early caucus in Iowa and the first primary in New Hampshire should be eliminated by rotation. The primaries should be regional and completed in no more than two months. Preferably they should be completed in June and July and the political conventions should be held in August and the campaign should last no longer than 2.5 months. Campaigning should officially start after Labor Day. Strict limitations on when campaign monies can be spent should be instituted. No candidate can be allowed to lend money to their campaign. Every contribution should be a “gift.” At the end of the campaign, no money can be kept by a candidate. It either has to be returned to contributors or contributed on a proportional level to state parties or to the running the running of the next federal election.
Each party should be allowed to appoint at least 25% of its delegates as Super Delegates. That total can reach as high as each party wishes. This should reduce the impact of expensive and meaningless primaries. In 1960 there were 16 primaries and only five were basically contested. In fact, only Wisconsin, West Virginia and Oregon had any discernible results. In state presidential primaries there should not be allowed any cross-over voters. In other words, only registered members of a party can vote in their own primary. This prevents the process of the non-party voters influencing the nomination of another party.
As for fund-raising, no person is allowed to form a committee until January of the election year and any money donated from PACs, assuming Citizen’s United is not reversed by the Supreme Court, can only raise the same amount of donation limit of which a candidate is currently allowed, which is $2700 per person. That amount can be raised to $5000 per person and be adjusted each election cycle. There should also be strict limits on what an individual can spend on their own campaign. No election should be dominated by billionaires who can spend unlimited amounts of their own money. Every contribution to a PAC should be public information. The era where an individual can give an unlimited and secret amount to a PAC should be ended.
The campaign should last from after Labor Day to Election Day and there should be consideration of allowing proportional distribution of Electoral College votes to Congressional Districts or a percentage of the statewide vote. If a state is split evenly, the Electoral College votes could be split in half. Or if a candidate wins all of the Congressional Districts, they receive all of the Electoral College votes. The votes should automatically be attributed to the winning candidate, with the elector only allowed to change their vote if there is a vacancy caused by death or resignation before the official certification of the election.