No more election drama! A Constitutional Amendment that will solve our election worries.
Prior to knowing who the final winner is of tonight's Presidential, House and Senate elections, I am proposing the Majority Voting Constitutional Amendment, which would become the 28th Amendment:
"All federally elected offices in the United States and Territories shall be decided with a simple majority vote. If a winner shall not be decided among all candidates in a single election, a runoff procedure shall decide the winner among the top vote receivers, with the election for the office of the President of the United States decided by Instant Runoff procedure. For offices of the House, Senate, and other federally elected offices, the States shall decide the procedures for majority vote and runoff elections."
I believe that choice is lacking in our federal elections due to plurality voting. In a two-party system where parties can't even get federal funding unless they reach 5% of the election results, which is rare, it makes no sense that a candidate from a major party can win the majority of Electoral College votes with just a plurality of popular vote.
Some States already force a runoff vote for Senate elections, with Louisiana being one of them. This year, they will hold a Dec. 10th runoff if none of the 24 candidates reaches a majority, and that is almost assured.
Why a majority vote?
A majority vote provides a mandate from the people. When the votes are divided 3 .. or 24 ... ways, it's hard to determine the will of the people.
Types of runoff votes
A runoff vote is essential to determine majority vote in a situation where nobody receives a majority. There are several types to choose from:
- Runoff Election - The top two candidates vie for another few weeks, and a second vote happens. The downsides to this are that turnout might be lower, which will support traditionally conservative candidates.
- Approval voting - Voters check ALL candidates they approve of. The voter with the most votes wins. This will usually pad totals for all candidates, resulting in a few receiving majority votes. There may exist a possibility of nobody reaching a majority in a field of 24 candidates, though.
- Instant Runoff - This is my favorite. During the general election voting day, voters mark a first and second choice. If a runoff is required, your second choice is added. The lowest polling candidates are dropped off the ballot until the last two remain... resulting in a decisive victory by one of the two remaining candidates.
Mandate Presidential Voting, let States decide the rest
To get approval of the States to ratify, the Amendment proposes to mandate an Instant Runoff for the Presidential election, to simplify things, but gives room for the States to decide the method of general and runoff voting they wish to proceed with for State federal offices, such as House and Senate
The end result is meeting the need of the voters: 1) voters get to vote who they want to vote for and speak their true mind and 2) voters can give a mandate that may not be apparent in a 3+ split election. This also avoids the current evil of voting for someone you want to, but essentially allowing your most feared candidate an opportunity to win by splitting votes on one side (left/right, conservative/liberal, etc.) An instant runoff even allows us to do this at no extra cost of having additional elections or cognitive dissonance while in the voting booth. Who among us would choose 1) Stein- 2)Clinton or 1)Johnson 2) Trump and feel 100% happy and comfortable with such a decision? In the end, there is only upside and no downside.
I authored and proposed this Constitutional Amendment, and would enjoy any feedback on this. @berniesanders this seems like a post you would support! :) I attempted to find a similar amendment to this online, but could not find another version, so if anyone has seen one please post a reply!
@professorx
Images Credit:
We the people- wynpnt @ Pixabay
Schoolhouse Rock screenshot - ABC Entertainment
I'm absolutely for a ranked voting system for the office of the President based on nationwide popular vote (ignoring state boundaries). This antiquated Electoral College system should go away. And with a proper ranked voting system we no longer have to worry much about spoilers and wasting our vote on a third-party that has very little chance.
There are quite a few ranked voting systems to choose from that trade-off different desirable voting criteria. I think it would be good to have a system that satisfies the Condorcet criterion. I'm personally a fan of the Schulze method.
Excellent links to support some out-of-the-box ideas! I think you nailed it: the Electoral College is antiquated, and needed during a time where the country was mainly countryside where candidates couldn't canvas every State reasonably.
I don't agree with everything, yet I believe your right the 2 party system is not good. My sister-in-law hates the 2 party candidates and was going to write in a name that would not count, I advised her to at least make her vote count and vote for one of the other parties. She said she would, I would as well, but close race don't want to have the person I voted for lose if I gave my vote to the 3rd party or I would as well. I think the electoral college is working but I agree there needs to be a major revision in the voting process, if we did a true majority then Bill Clinton would have lost, and states like mine would make no sense to vote since there are so few people it would not matter. So some of the process is good, but yes we do need a third party in the mix, most of Europe has 3 parties running makes the politics not so black and white like it is here.
Thats why I advocate for Instant Runoff. It just requires everyone to select a second choice, and that choice is initiated if nobody reaches 50% of the vote. The candidates at the bottom of the list get knocked off. It's very similar to some Caucus systems, where you get to vote who you want at the beginning, but since nobody reaches majority then voters have to go with a second or even a third choice pick.
Sounds like it could work if the country was not so polarized as in red or blue. My state is typically red, but this year we are a true battle ground state so for us it seems like that would cost a bit more and end up with the same people on top.
For me, I am concerned that there is no mandate without a majority vote. Not so bad if its 48%, but anything less than 40% is a low approval for a federally elected office (especially President).
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