Numerous constitutional amendments will be needed to remove the antidemocratic provisions from our Constitution. The first antidemocratic provision that must be addressed is the process of amending our Constitution is itself. Pure Democracy Amendments will make it much easier to enact the other reforms that are needed by extending the use of referendums and the initiative to the federal government and making it easier for citizens to use those powerful forms of direct democracy.
Pure Democracy Amendments will:
The details of the versions of Pure Democracy Amendments enacted in each state will vary based on the language in each state's constitution and depending on whether a state already has referendums and the initiative.
In constituting a Congress or state legislature that is “in miniature” an “exact portrait of the people at large” and ensuring that “equal interests among the people” have equal representation, it is the “act” of voting that is of prime importance. The key to making a representative democracy as pure (or perfect) as possible, is for every politically active citizen to be represented by someone who votes as they would vote.
In a pure (or perfect) representative democracy, votes taken in a legislative body would correlate perfectly with how the people governed by a legislative body would have voted, if voting directly. In practical terms, legislation enacted by a legislature should have the support of the people governed by the acts of that legislature and legislation supported by most of the people governed by a legislature should be enacted by that legislature.
If we want to constitute Representative Assemblies that meet Adams’ criteria, there is a much better way for us to choose our representatives – proxies for citizens. Implementing a system of proxies for citizens is the best way to ensure that all citizens are represented in Congress and in their state legislature by someone who votes as they would vote.
A proxy is the authority to represent someone else, especially in voting. When you assign your proxy to someone, you authorize them to vote on your behalf.
The best way to ensure that votes taken in Congress and state legislatures “bear a proportion” to the way the people would vote, if voting directly, is to give every citizen who is governed by the laws passed by a legislative body, a proxy that can be assigned to any member of that legislative body, and then allow each legislator to cast a number of votes equal to the number of proxies they hold (plus one for themselves) on every matter that comes before that legislative body (including votes taken in committees and on procedural matters).
In a pure (or perfect) representative democracy, votes taken in a legislative body would correlate perfectly with how the people governed by a legislative body would have voted, if voting directly. In practical terms, legislation enacted by a legislature should have the support of the people governed by the acts of that legislature and legislation supported by most of the people governed by a legislature should be enacted by that legislature.
The method by which we choose our representatives in Congress and state legislatures has failed to even come close to constituting ideal representative assemblies. We have not managed "to prevent unfair, partial, and corrupt elections". Less than ten percent of the elections for seats in Congress and most state legislatures are competitive and even those competitive elections typically limit voters to a choice between the two candidates representing the two dominant political parties, which many voters have come to consider a choice between the "lesser-of-two-evils". As a result of extreme gerrymandering, voters in more than 90% of congressional districts are left with no meaningful choice at all. Ranked choice voting will give voters more choices.
Ranked choice voting is a method of voting that allows voters to cast votes for more than one candidate, ranking their choices in order of preference. When used in an election where there is a single winner (an executive office, such as president, governor, lieutenant governor, et cetera; or for seats in a legislature with single-member districts) the tabulation method for ranked choice voting ensures that winning candidates have the support of a majority of the voters (at some level of preference) instead of just a plurality (the most votes, even if that is less than a majority). This is in harmony with the primary principle of democracy – majority rule.
Ranked choice voting is even more powerful when combined with multiple member districts for electing members of a legislature. It results in a form of proportional representation – with political parties or other collections of like-minded voters holding a percentage of the seats in a legislature equal to the percentage of the votes the top candidates from each party receive in an election. Legislatures with proportional representation more accurately reflect the will of the people – another primary principle of democracy.
REPLACE THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE WITH DIRECT ELECTION OF THE PRESIDENT USING RANKED CHOICE VOTING:
The Electoral College has overruled the voters (the popular vote) in two of the last six presidential elections. This is blatantly undemocratic. It is time to abolish the Electoral College and move to direct election of the president and vice-president by the people, using ranked choice voting to ensure that the winning candidate has the support of a majority of voters (at some level of preference).
We have, so far, avoided an even more antidemocratic process for electing the president that would be triggered if one or more independent or third-party candidates won enough electoral votes to prevent any candidate from receiving a majority of the electoral votes. In that event, the 12th Amendment, as it stands, provides for the House of Representatives to elect the president with each state, regardless of population, casting a single vote. The vice-president would be elected by the Senate.
AN ACT PROVIDING THE DETAILS OF HOW A CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION WOULD BE CALLED AND CONDUCTED
Article V of the U. S. Constitution provides for amendments to be proposed by means of a convention but does not include any details regarding how delegates would be chosen or how the business of the convention is to be conducted. Many of the resolutions that have been adopted state legislatures calling for a convention specify strict limits on the amendments that can be considered at the convention. If a constitutional convention is called without the details already in place, it will precipitate an unnecessary and avoidable constitutional crisis.
REPEAL THE UNIFORM CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT ACT
The Uniform Congressional District Act requires that all members of the U. S. House of Representatives be elected from a single-member district. This prevents states from taking advantage of the major benefits of ranked choice voting – neutralizing the effects of gerrymandering by and giving voters more choices regarding who will represent them in Congress by electing representatives at-large or from multiple-member districts. This act needs to be repealed so that states can elect members of Congress at large or from multi-member districts.
EXTEND PROXIES FOR CITIZENS TO THE SENATE OR MERGE THE SENATE WITH THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
The Senate, in and of itself, is antidemocratic, with equal representation for states resulting in grossly unequal representation for the people of the larger states. Equal representation for the states in the Senate was “The Great Compromise” between the larger, more populous states (that wanted representation to be based on population) and the smaller states (that wanted to retain the equal representation for each state that they enjoyed under the Articles of Confederation). It was an unfortunate compromise, made necessary because the small states threatened to leave the convention (and the union) if they were denied equal suffrage in one house of Congress. It was designed to be an "elite" assembly (originally elected by state legislatures instead of directly by the people) to give the wealthy a check on the will of the people. Absent a desire to check or limit the will of the people, there is really no reason to have a bicameral (two chamber) legislature. We should move to a unicameral legislature.
The alternative (extending a system of proxies for citizens to the U. S. Senate) would make both the House of Representatives and the Senate considerably more reflective of the will of the people, which would presumably put an end to endless gridlock. It would also introduce an unnecessary redundancy. That might be necessary at least temporarily in order to get the necessary amendment enacted.
Abolishing the Senate, merging it with the U. S. House of Representatives to make Congress a unicameral legislature, or implementing a system of proxies in the Senate will require a constitutional amendment.
Amendments merging the Senate with the House of Representatives should be adopted in state governments. The primary reason we have a Senate at the federal level was to appease the small states at the Federal Convention of 1787. Our legislatures are also modeled on Great Britain's. We don't need a Senate to block the will of the people. We need a Congress and state legislatures that reflect the will of the people.
ABOLISH THE PRESIDENTIAL AND GUBERNATORIAL VETO
Allowing one person (even if that person is the President or a governor) to overrule the votes of two-thirds or more of the members of Congress if the support for a bill falls one vote short of a super-majority in either the House or the Senate is extremely undemocratic. The same is true of governor's in the states. Requiring super-majorities in both houses of Congress (or a state legislature) to overcome the decisions of a single person borders on autocracy.
END JUDICIAL REVIEW
The power of the Supreme Court to nullify acts of Congress that have been signed into law by the president is not included in the Constitution. The power of "Judicial Review" is a power the Supreme Court gave itself early in our nation's history. Allowing a handful of Supreme Court Justices to unilaterally "veto" legislation through "Judicial Review" makes the judicial branch supreme rather than the legislative power.
MAKE IT CLEAR THAT CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE
Corporations are not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution. Corporations are not people. They are a form of business organization. The fact that five misguided, dark-robed Supreme Court Justices declared that corporations are people, with the same natural rights as human beings, does not make it so. The corporate form of business organization enables companies to reap enormous profits, grow very large, and become very powerful. We must prevent that power from being used to take control of our government.
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