Revamp our political process: Elections, round 1

The political process in the United States is, as in many places, flawed. Of course, it’s flawed in unique ways, given that each country’s government is different. I have some thoughts on ways it can be improved, specifically in terms of our elections, some of which I’ve heard from other sources.

1. Abolish the Electoral College
   The purpose of the United States Electoral College was to balance the quantity of free men in the northern states with the number of slaves populating the southern states; slaves were counted as three-fifths of a person for determining electoral college votes and representation in the House of Representatives. The Electoral College should have been abolished when slavery was; the benefit it provides now is to presidential candidates who can tailor their campaign promises on a few swing state issues, instead of working towards serving the country as a whole.
   While you could argue that it benefits sparsely populated states like Wyoming, as a state Wyoming has only voted for a Democratic candidate once in the last 50 years; as a result, it’s likely to be ignored by all candidates. It certainly doesn’t benefit Democratic voters in a “red” state, or Republication voters in a “blue” state – their votes are effectively ignored. Eliminating the Electoral College would mean every vote really counts.
   
2. Term limits
   We have a problem with career politicians who stay in the same position for decades. When an election rolls around, they benefit from name recognition, which a new candidate – either from the same party in primaries, or in the general election – is typically lacking. The problem with career politicians is the tendency to lose touch with the average person, as they get dragged into the inter-partisan bickering, never-ending fundraising, and professional lobbying efforts. How can these people possibly represent us, the “little guys,” if they’re busy building their wealth instead of remembering that they are public servants?
   
3. Campaign duration limits
   It’s September 2020, six weeks to the general election, but it feels like we’ve been hearing about this Presidential election forever. Well, we have… Andrew Yang announced his Democratic candidacy on November 6, 2017; and according to Wikipedia, the first Republican candidate announced his intention on April 15, 2019. (This feels like misinformation, since the current president actually started his 2020 campaign ads back in 2017.) Is it any wonder that the voting public is burnt out on the election news? I suggest restricting when the campaign for each position can start – maybe give the primaries one month before that election, and two months of campaigning before the general election. Give us a break, and let our politicians actually do the work we’re paying them for instead of spending their time campaigning.
   
4. One Primary date
   Related to the ridiculous ongoing campaign season is the sprawling range of primary dates. By the time the last states vote, the primary is already effectively done… it’s just another way that voters are disenfranchised. In 2020, with some states having to push their Presidential primary dates back because of the pandemic, the primaries ranged from February to July; by the time Delaware, New Jersey, and Louisiana voted, there was only one Democratic candidate in the race.

I know that’s a bit more than two cents worth of thoughts… in fact, I have more, coming next week. I think these changes would drastically improve our political process and make our politicians better public servants.

P.S.: Early voting has started already in some states. Remember to vote.