Next week at this time we’ll be going through all of my
predictions for Tuesday’s elections, and as a result, this is probably our last
proper Friday rant of the year about the Midterms. I
could spend it talking about the incessant emails I keep getting from the
Democrats (I’m a life-long, yellow dog to the core Democrat, but even I roll my
eyes every time I get an “all is hope is lost” subject line). I could spend it discussing the
increasingly disheartening New Hampshire Senate race, where Scott Brown may be
able to prove that state-shopping is totally appropriate and apparently New
Hampshire doesn’t care about giving one of their Senate seats to Massachusetts
(I’m telling you right now-Jeanne Shaheen loses that seat, I’ve got an easy
answer for the most disappointing loss of Election 2014).
But instead I’m going to focus on something a little less
partisan (yet for some reason, it’s become partisan): how to fix the electoral
system. One of the few truths that
every pundit of every stripe agrees upon is that the 2014 Midterms will have
less voter turnout than two years ago with the presidential election, which
didn’t even hit 58% of eligible voters.
I think we would all be better off (regardless of whether it favors our party or not) if more
eligible voters actually made it to the polls, and that should be a goal of
both parties, since we want a system of government that reflects the
citizenry. Below I list out seven
ways that I think you could do that, mostly with fixes to the system and a
couple with fixes to the campaigns.
1. All Federal and
Statewide Elections Should Require At Least One Debate
I think part of why people don’t vote in Midterms is because
the media partially designates which seats are actually competitive or not. What reason does say someone in
Wyoming have to vote this particular cycle if all of their incumbents are
assured victory. Setting aside the
fact that even in the best of circumstances getting 40% more voters would
assuredly challenge the assumption of what is designated as a “safe seat” or
not and that as states like Georgia and Arkansas have proven that voting trends change over time and you never know when you will randomly hit the tipping point, having a debate for all major offices would at least mean that everyone
would hear from your candidates. I
follow the polls religiously, and I have no idea what is going on with my
Democratic House candidate since she has no chance of winning, and isn’t going
to debate her opponent. If
politicians are worried about gaffes or snafus at a debate, then don’t run for
public office. You’re responsible
to all of the citizens, and they should hear what you have to say on a variety
of issues, not just the ones you want to bring up.
2. Don’t Run from
Your Record/Votes/Party
Part of what turns people off to elections is that they
cannot stand politicians. Congress
has an insanely low approval rating, and part of that is the blame culture that
has permeated both sides of the aisle-Democrats blame Republicans for not
getting anything done, Republicans blame Democrats for not getting anything
done, and the world continues unchanged (though it always feels a little worse,
sadly). I loathe the concept of term limits because I’m against limiting
someone’s freedom of expression and choice (and no, there is no way that you can sugarcoat term
limits to get around that fact) and as a general rule I value experience in a position, but I do agree that incumbents oftentimes go
unchecked with their votes. Have
moderators at debates that mandate a clear answer on different subjects, and
that if, say, a candidate won’t say whom they voted for for president, that
they need to since they are running for a partisan public office. If they won’t say their opinion on gay
marriage, remind them that gay marriage is still illegal in almost twenty
states and they may have to vote on it in the near future. And if they voted for the Affordable
Care Act (or against it), ask them to explain that vote or explain why they
changed their mind about it once it became popular or unpopular (this goes for
legislation that they have endorsed or sponsored). Politicians shouldn’t have amnesia about what they do in
office, and it’s okay to challenge them if they voted against certain things
and wait for a response until you move on, rather than watching them hem and
haw through a non-answer.
3. Implement a
Ten-Day Voting Window
Okay, now we move away from specific politicking ranting and
move into specifics to not just change people’s attitudes, but to help them to
vote. The best way in my opinion
to get more people to vote is to expand early voting. Early voting clearly works in getting less involved voters
to the polls, and gets you a stronger assortment of the electorate. It also helps with lower income people
or people who have multiple jobs or people who have children-in a culture that
makes being busy a status symbol, we should find a way to adapt voting to fit a
larger window of time, allowing more of the citizenry to have its say. Ten days seems about right (it gives
every weekday, weekend day, and two Sundays), and should be something that all
fifty states should employ. You
can keep with tradition and have the final voting day be “Election Day” as a
result of this. This should also
greatly cut down on the insane Election Day lines that a number of states end
up having, which deters people with time crunches from casting their ballots.
4. Same-Day Voter
Registration
I grew up in Minnesota, so the concept of not having
same-day registration is alien to me, but I know lots of states don’t have
it. This seems silly to me-we
whine literally all the time about how busy we are (again, it’s become THE status
symbol of our times to compare who is the busiest), so why not make it easier
and have registration happen the same day as the election? It means less points of contact to get
people to vote, and it’s clearly proven in other states to help turnout
(Minnesota, for example, has one of the highest voter turnout traditions in the
country).
5. All States Deserve
Runoffs
Whether you are discussing the South Dakota Senate race or
the Maine gubernatorial race or (quite frankly) the presidential race fourteen
years ago which Democrats still privately grumble about losing, it’s extremely clear that some sort of runoff or ranked ballot
system is necessary, particularly with the increased interest in third party
candidates. A progressive in Maine shouldn’t have to worry that a vote for
Eliot Cutler is really a vote for Paul LePage, and a Republican in South Dakota
shouldn’t have to worry that his voting for Larry Pressler will lead to Rick
Weiland winning the election.
Runoffs ensure that a minority of the voters don’t win based off of a
plurality, and makes the process more democratic.
6. No Excuse Absentee
Voting
This, like same-day voter registration and an expanded
ten-day voting window, just makes sense to me. You shouldn’t have to explain why you want an absentee
ballot. Maybe you work two jobs
and don’t have time to get to the polls, even with an expanded window. Maybe you have children and don’t want
to spend an evening away from them.
Maybe you just want to sit on your couch and watch a Scandal marathon on Netflix.
It doesn’t really matter-absentee ballots should be available to all who
want them, end of story.
7. Eliminate Voter ID
Laws
I’m 100% against voter fraud. If people are caught committing voter fraud, by all means
press criminal charges, as it’s a shame to our democracy and makes all of our
votes a little less sacred. That
being said, voter ID laws are poll taxes as long as you have to pay for a
driver’s license, so either find a way to give away the licenses for free
(taking both a revenue away from the government, and also using taxes to pay
for it), and then make a way for people to be reimbursed for traveling to the
DMV, as well as making up for their lost wages, or find a different way to fix
the issue. Because Voter ID is
discriminatory, end of story. And if you look at study after study, they don't prevent voter fraud to start with, they just prevent people from voting.
And those are my ways I think we could improve the electoral
system and increase turnout. What
are your suggestions? Share them
in the comments!
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