Taking a short break from Project 2025 (will have another post on that later today) for a brief change of focus.
I’ve read some interviews with Democrats who’ve been successful in red states or districts, including Ruben Gallego (AZ), John Fetterman (PA), Andy Beshear (KY), and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA). Those interviews have mostly addressed “how can Democrats do better in elections,” but I’ve also seen comments on how the US, overall, could have better elections.
And by “better elections” I mean “elections in which all voters truly feel like their vote counts.”
Here are a few ideas.
First: abolish the Electoral College. It’s an artifact of the past, serving no legitimate purpose in an age where every citizen can find information about their candidates in a matter of minutes and where most citizens are able to cast their votes without undue burden. A direct election is achievable and the results are inarguable.
Second: ensure security of ballot boxes by placing them in buildings open 24/7/365 such as police stations, fire stations, and hospital emergency rooms. If such buildings don’t already have video surveillance in their public-access areas, add that, and add a human monitor during elections.
Third: ensure security of in-person polling locations. There’s plenty of ways to do this, I don’t need to spell it out. We‘re supposed to be able to approach our polling place without interference, without being yelled at, without people campaigning at us right up to the moment we go through the door. Make it so, damn it.
Fourth: make every state offer voting by mail, with ballots sent to registered voters no less than six weeks ahead of the election. As in California, make the return envelope postage free. And as in California, a ballot guide must be mailed separately.
Fifth: eliminate party-coded ballots. Every voter gets the same ballot.
Sixth: implement ranked-choice voting, in which all candidates for a Federal office are listed in one box on every ballot and the candidate with the most votes from all ballots wins. AKA “instant runoff” voting.
Seventh: eliminate election-related advertising on television, including broadcast, cable, and streaming. (Why? To make candidacy more accessible for aspiring politicians who aren’t billionaires. A website can be set up and maintained for less than $600/yr. Ask me how I know. Candidates could and should get their word out that way now.)
Eighth: provide airtime on PBS for any candidates who want to discuss or debate their platform in public but aren’t offered airtime on for-profit news channels.
Ninth: eliminate districting for the US House of Representatives. Everybody in the state votes for all the candidates for Congress.
And (drumroll please):
Tenth: increase the voting membership of the House of Representatives. Number of reps is based on population: so many reps per so many residents (originally one rep per 30,000 people). The total number of voting members has been capped at 435.
There are currently seven states which have only one representative each. Of these, only one has a state population over 1 million; the least populous has about 580,000 residents. Seven more states with populations up to 2 million have two representatives each.
With a population of 39 million, California has 52 representatives. That’s one per 750,000 residents.
Is it possible for one person to adequately represent that many people? It sure wasn’t in 1787. Now, with instant communication that’s free to receive and send, it’s a lot more possible. But is it fair to expect a single person to represent the interests of an entire state?
On top of that, there are six non-voting members, representing the District of Columbia and US territories Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Clearly these territories should have a vote in how they are governed. Remember “no taxation without representation?”
I think the House of Representatives voting membership should immediately be expanded by thirteen. Give voting rights to the current six non-voting members, and give another rep to each of our seven least-populous states.
As to how to pay those extra seven Congressional salaries, wait till I get started on my slash-and-burn look at the Federal budget. I’ll bet I can find the money in about five minutes.