It has just occurred to me, after reviewing and posting Supreme Court plans today, that perhaps there is a simpler way that could better satisfy the American public.
Last year, I proposed a new Presidential election formula that would retain but reduce states' influence, making the popular vote count for more, which most people view as increasingly important.
My Federal Elector Panel plan for appointing Supreme Court judges is another plan that contains concessions to the pro-state crowd, since the President, who is chosen partly by states instead of humans, is the one who currently chooses our Justices, and therefore it makes sense to continue the state influence there.
Wouldn't it be an elegant solution for state legislatures to choose the Panel of Federal Electors (which will appoint Supreme Court and possibly other officials such as FBI director), and allow the American public to finally have one undiluted popular-vote election, for President?
And don't try to lecture me about the need for Presidential Electors. The concept was tested in 2016, and it failed the test, partly because the states and people of our country reject the concept of Presidential Electors being anything more than completely unnecessary messengers.
(Just for the record, they used the word "elector" in the Constitution the way we today use the word "voter," we know this because they referred to the people who choose Representatives as "electors," and the word "voter" does not appear in the Constitution. So it's clear to me that choosing of Presidential Electors was supposed to be choosing a local smart person, who would, with the other smart people, vote for President.)
Anyway, this compromise would keep and even strengthen the small states' influence over the Supreme Court, while allowing the majority of the American people to finally choose their own President. The Court would stay weirdly conservative, while standing independent of Presidential politics, and rotating out on a regular basis. The President would become more concerned about more people, as Presidents should be.
Friday, September 22, 2017
Supreme Court 2017, summary
Summarizing and explaining today's other post, concerning a new Panel of Federal Electors and the Supreme Court.
Millions of Americans are acting under an assumption that lifetime appointment of Supreme Court Justices is somehow necessary for the court to make independent decisions. But they are wrong. The idea of lifetime appointment would apply if they had a short term length with eligibility for reappointment, so of course, we should avoid those things.
Lifetime appointment is an idea that becomes worse as we head into a future of increasing lifespans and accelerating change. The people of the future have a right to govern themselves, and not be held decades behind by dinosaurs of supreme power. For the U.S. to remain a world leader, we need to show the people of the world that we are on the ball, current, enlightened, and not mired in outdated traditions.
The American people, unfortunately, use future Supreme Court appointments as a major criterion for choosing a President, that is, we choose Presidents according to their usefulness as Supreme Court electors. We were supposed to choose presidential Electors who then choose a President, not to use the President as an elector. The intention was for the President to set up the government, with appointment of judges being only one part of his or her expansive and important job.
Perhaps the founders did not anticipate the people's prioritization and politicization of the Supreme Court. Our present Court appointment process adversely affects the quality of our Presidents, who adversely affect the quality of the Court.
Presidents have a habit of appointing to our highest court people of little to no judicial experience. W looked around the room and decided to appoint his own attorney. When she was rejected, he appointed, for Chief Justice, a man with about two years experience. Obama's appointee, Kagan, was also green. This seems reckless to me.
Presidents want their influence on the Court to be long-lasting, so they want to appoint young people. Appointees are frequently in their 50's, so that they might serve for the next 50 years. My hope is that with a term limit we will see OLDER appointees, for their valuable career experience of having other people's lives in their hands, who will retire around a reasonable age of 75 to 80, before dementia hits, rather than 100, 110, who knows how long they can stay alive.
We must separate Court from President.
We must protect our future people from our past judges.
We must encourage the promotion of the best judges, rather than the best-connected 50-year-old lawyers.
A panel of Federal Electors will be chosen by the people, and some by legislatures of larger states, in the third June following every Presidential election. (This amendment only talks about the Supreme Court, but it is conceivable that instead of bogging down the President and Senate with hundreds of appointments they now deal with, the new federal electors could also be used to appoint federal attorneys, or other officials of public interest, such as FBI, EPA, Commander-in-chief...)
The number of electors of each state will be between one and five, based on state population. The five electors of each state with greater than 10% of the national population will cast two votes each. Electors of other states only one vote each.
Federal electors will appoint Supreme Court Alternate Judges, who will be promoted to Justice as soon as a Justice seat is vacated. Unless there is a disaster, the Court would never be short-handed again. It would eliminate the pathetic possibility of partisan politics leaving Justice seats unfilled.
In such an important job, where the vacancies are caused by random retirement and death, it is not reasonable to not have replacements ready in advance.
The sitting Supreme Court Justices will have their terms end according to the schedule laid out in the amendment. The schedule is based on tenure, on setting up somewhat even vacancy intervals, political balance, and a goal term length of fourteen years.
The court would be temporarily reduced to seven Justices in order to speed the retirement of long-serving members, maintain political balance, and to set regular rotation intervals. Future courts will once again have nine Justices.
Neil Gorsuch would become the first Justice subject to the new constitutional term limit of exactly fourteen years. It would be several more years before the firm fourteen-year limit applies to everyone, as one of the two new Justices required to bring the number back up to nine will serve extra years in order to space out the rotation schedule.
The number of alternate judges will be maintained at three. When one retires or is promoted, the electors will appoint a new alternate judge.
After a Chief Justice leaves the Court, the title of Chief Justice will be awarded in a vote among all the sitting Justices, including the alternate judge being promoted. In the case of a tie, the President shall cast a tie-breaking vote.
One thing we need to make sure is included in this plan: The right of an outgoing Panel of Electors to appoint during every minute of their term, so no one can say "you're close to the end of your term, so we might as well block you."
Millions of Americans are acting under an assumption that lifetime appointment of Supreme Court Justices is somehow necessary for the court to make independent decisions. But they are wrong. The idea of lifetime appointment would apply if they had a short term length with eligibility for reappointment, so of course, we should avoid those things.
Lifetime appointment is an idea that becomes worse as we head into a future of increasing lifespans and accelerating change. The people of the future have a right to govern themselves, and not be held decades behind by dinosaurs of supreme power. For the U.S. to remain a world leader, we need to show the people of the world that we are on the ball, current, enlightened, and not mired in outdated traditions.
The American people, unfortunately, use future Supreme Court appointments as a major criterion for choosing a President, that is, we choose Presidents according to their usefulness as Supreme Court electors. We were supposed to choose presidential Electors who then choose a President, not to use the President as an elector. The intention was for the President to set up the government, with appointment of judges being only one part of his or her expansive and important job.
Perhaps the founders did not anticipate the people's prioritization and politicization of the Supreme Court. Our present Court appointment process adversely affects the quality of our Presidents, who adversely affect the quality of the Court.
Presidents have a habit of appointing to our highest court people of little to no judicial experience. W looked around the room and decided to appoint his own attorney. When she was rejected, he appointed, for Chief Justice, a man with about two years experience. Obama's appointee, Kagan, was also green. This seems reckless to me.
Presidents want their influence on the Court to be long-lasting, so they want to appoint young people. Appointees are frequently in their 50's, so that they might serve for the next 50 years. My hope is that with a term limit we will see OLDER appointees, for their valuable career experience of having other people's lives in their hands, who will retire around a reasonable age of 75 to 80, before dementia hits, rather than 100, 110, who knows how long they can stay alive.
We must separate Court from President.
We must protect our future people from our past judges.
We must encourage the promotion of the best judges, rather than the best-connected 50-year-old lawyers.
A panel of Federal Electors will be chosen by the people, and some by legislatures of larger states, in the third June following every Presidential election. (This amendment only talks about the Supreme Court, but it is conceivable that instead of bogging down the President and Senate with hundreds of appointments they now deal with, the new federal electors could also be used to appoint federal attorneys, or other officials of public interest, such as FBI, EPA, Commander-in-chief...)
The number of electors of each state will be between one and five, based on state population. The five electors of each state with greater than 10% of the national population will cast two votes each. Electors of other states only one vote each.
Federal electors will appoint Supreme Court Alternate Judges, who will be promoted to Justice as soon as a Justice seat is vacated. Unless there is a disaster, the Court would never be short-handed again. It would eliminate the pathetic possibility of partisan politics leaving Justice seats unfilled.
In such an important job, where the vacancies are caused by random retirement and death, it is not reasonable to not have replacements ready in advance.
The sitting Supreme Court Justices will have their terms end according to the schedule laid out in the amendment. The schedule is based on tenure, on setting up somewhat even vacancy intervals, political balance, and a goal term length of fourteen years.
The court would be temporarily reduced to seven Justices in order to speed the retirement of long-serving members, maintain political balance, and to set regular rotation intervals. Future courts will once again have nine Justices.
Neil Gorsuch would become the first Justice subject to the new constitutional term limit of exactly fourteen years. It would be several more years before the firm fourteen-year limit applies to everyone, as one of the two new Justices required to bring the number back up to nine will serve extra years in order to space out the rotation schedule.
The number of alternate judges will be maintained at three. When one retires or is promoted, the electors will appoint a new alternate judge.
After a Chief Justice leaves the Court, the title of Chief Justice will be awarded in a vote among all the sitting Justices, including the alternate judge being promoted. In the case of a tie, the President shall cast a tie-breaking vote.
One thing we need to make sure is included in this plan: The right of an outgoing Panel of Electors to appoint during every minute of their term, so no one can say "you're close to the end of your term, so we might as well block you."
Proposed Amendment, Supreme Court and Federal Electors Panel
(Note: rather than attempting a rewrite of a whole Article, this is presented as a plan, in a somewhat rough draft, not nearly as polished as last year's Article II.)
Index:
Federal Elector Panel,
Scheduled Elections and Retirements,
Future Appointments and Term Limit
-
Supreme Court- ending lifetime appointments, appointing judges in advance, removing the responsibility from the President
Federal Elector Panel:
Justices will be appointed to the Supreme Court by a panel of Federal Electors, who will be chosen by the People of each state and the District of Columbia, and the governments of the larger states.
The first election of Federal Electors will be held in early June, the first June after adoption of this amendment, except in the event that the amendment is adopted in April, May, or June, the election will be postponed until the following June. In the event that the election would land in a presidential election year, the election will be postponed until the following June. All subsequent elections of Federal Electors will occur according to the following rules.
A national election day for the People to choose Federal Electors will be held in early June, the third June after every presidential election. If there are two presidential elections in the same interval between election of Federal Electors, the above rule still holds. The term of previous Federal Electors ends upon the swearing in of their successors, except for the terms scheduled herein to end on specified dates.
The People of each State having a population, as measured by the last census, of less than or equal to 1% of the total population of the States plus the District of Columbia, will choose, and the People of the District of Columbia, will choose one Federal Elector from one field of candidates in each State or District, and one Alternate Elector from a second field of candidates, to serve should the Elector be unable. These small states will have only a Peoples' vote, and the state or district governments will not vote. Their Federal Elector will have one vote.
The People of each state having a population of greater than one percent, and less than or equal to five percent of the population of the states plus D.C., will elect two Electors from one field of candidates, by each voter choosing one candidate, and the two with the most votes win. The same method will apply to a second field of candidates, from which two Alternates will be elected. The Alternate having received more votes would replace the Elector having received more votes, and the Alternate having received fewer votes would replace the Elector having fewer votes, should an Elector resign, die, or be otherwise unable to perform the duties of an Elector. The legislatures of these middle-sized states will also choose, after January 31, and before May 1 of the election year, one Elector and one corresponding Alternate, and if they fail to choose before the deadline, their state will be short an Elector. These states may be represented by no more than 3 Federal Electors, who will have one vote each.
The People of each state having a population greater than five percent, but less than or equal to ten percent of the population of the states plus D.C., will elect three Electors from one field of candidates, by each voter choosing up to two candidates, and the three with the most votes win. The same method will apply to a second field of candidates, from which three Alternates will be elected. The Alternate having received the most votes would replace the Elector having received the most votes, and the Alternate having received the fewest votes would replace the Elector having the fewest votes, should an Elector resign, die, or be otherwise unable to perform the duties of an Elector. The legislatures of these larger states will also choose, after January 31, and before May 1 of the election year, two Electors and two corresponding Alternates, and if they fail to choose before the deadline, their state may remain short of Electors. These states may be represented by no more than five Federal Electors, who will have one vote each.
Each state having a population greater than ten percent of the population of the states plus D.C. will also choose five Federal Electors and Alternates in the same way. Electors of these states will each have two votes when choosing Judges, both of which must be cast together for the same Judge, while all other Electors will each have one vote.
Scheduled Elections and Retirements:
Justices of the Supreme Court, upon adoption of this amendment, will no longer be entitled to a lifetime term, and will leave the Court upon expiration of their terms, as specified herein.
The term of Justice Anthony Kennedy is scheduled to end upon the swearing in of his replacement, who will be chosen by the President within 30 days of the adoption of this amendment, and who, without a vote of disapproval of the Senate within 30 days of nomination, will join the Court, and serve a term of no more than fourteen years.
The term of Justice Clarence Thomas, and the term of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, are both scheduled to end on the 90th day following the adoption of this amendment. These two seats will remain unfilled until after the fourth panel of Federal Electors has been elected.
The first panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine which of them will become the next Justice. The first panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at seven, and the number of Alternate Judges at one. The first panel may appoint no more than three Judges in two years, or four Judges in three years, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the next Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Stephen Breyer is scheduled to end at noon, December 1, during the first year of the first panel of Federal Electors.
The term of Justice John Roberts is scheduled to end at noon, December 1, during the second year of the first panel of Federal Electors.
The second election of Federal Electors will be held two years after the first election of Federal Electors, except that the election will be postponed for one year if it would otherwise fall upon a presidential election year.
The second panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine the order of their ascention to Justice. The second panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at seven, and the Alternate Judges at two, and they will appoint no more than three Judges in two years, or four Judges in three years, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the third Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Samuel Alito is scheduled to end at noon, March 1, 2024.
The third election of Federal Electors will be held two years after the second election of Federal Electors, except that the election will be postponed for one year if it would otherwise fall upon a presidential election year.
The third panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges to temporarily raise their number to four, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine the order of their ascention to Justice. The third panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at seven, and the Alternate Judges at three, and they will appoint no more than four Judges, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the fourth Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Sonia Sotomayor is scheduled to end at noon, December 1, 2025.
The term of Justice Elena Kagan is scheduled to end at noon, March 1, 2027.
The fourth election of Federal Electors will be held Four years after the third election of Federal Electors, except that the election will be postponed for one year if it would otherwise fall upon a presidential election year.
The fourth panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine the order of their ascention to Justice.
The seats formerly held by Justices Thomas and Ginsburg will be filled on July 15 following the election of the fourth panel of Federal Electors, restoring the number of Supreme Court Justices to nine.
The seat formerly held by Justice Thomas will be filled first, and this new Justice will be scheduled for a term of thirteen years, eight and one half months, to end at noon, April 1.
The seat formerly held by Justice Ginsburg will be filled second, and this new Justice will be scheduled for a term of seventeen years, four months, and seventeen days, to end at noon, December 1.
The fourth panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at nine, and the Alternate Judges at three, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the fifth Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Neil Gorsuch is scheduled to end at noon, April 10, 2031. This will be the first term restricted to the new standard of fourteen years.
Future Appointments and Term Limit:
Justices of the Supreme Court will retain their Justice seat, in good behavior, for one term of fourteen years. Upon their resignation, inability, death, removal from office, or expiration of their term, the next Alternate Judge will immediately ascend to full Justice.
A person appointed or elected to the Supreme Court will first serve as an Alternate Judge, who will observe court sessions, but will not participate, except with the consent of a Justice who is absent or recused. Such consent must specify the cases in which the absent or recused Justice will not participate, and the Alternate Judge, having received consent, will remain a participating Justice on and will rule on said cases, and will return to the role of Alternate upon completion of the same cases.
An Alternate Judge will ascend to Associate Justice to fill a vacancy on the Court.
The role of Chief Justice, being unfilled, will be filled by a vote of the Associate Justices choosing one of their own ranks to be Chief. If there were empty seats of the Court at the time of choosing a new Chief, there will be another vote held after all the Justice seats are filled. In the event of a tie, the acting President of the United States will vote to break the tie.
Index:
Federal Elector Panel,
Scheduled Elections and Retirements,
Future Appointments and Term Limit
-
Supreme Court- ending lifetime appointments, appointing judges in advance, removing the responsibility from the President
Federal Elector Panel:
Justices will be appointed to the Supreme Court by a panel of Federal Electors, who will be chosen by the People of each state and the District of Columbia, and the governments of the larger states.
The first election of Federal Electors will be held in early June, the first June after adoption of this amendment, except in the event that the amendment is adopted in April, May, or June, the election will be postponed until the following June. In the event that the election would land in a presidential election year, the election will be postponed until the following June. All subsequent elections of Federal Electors will occur according to the following rules.
A national election day for the People to choose Federal Electors will be held in early June, the third June after every presidential election. If there are two presidential elections in the same interval between election of Federal Electors, the above rule still holds. The term of previous Federal Electors ends upon the swearing in of their successors, except for the terms scheduled herein to end on specified dates.
The People of each State having a population, as measured by the last census, of less than or equal to 1% of the total population of the States plus the District of Columbia, will choose, and the People of the District of Columbia, will choose one Federal Elector from one field of candidates in each State or District, and one Alternate Elector from a second field of candidates, to serve should the Elector be unable. These small states will have only a Peoples' vote, and the state or district governments will not vote. Their Federal Elector will have one vote.
The People of each state having a population of greater than one percent, and less than or equal to five percent of the population of the states plus D.C., will elect two Electors from one field of candidates, by each voter choosing one candidate, and the two with the most votes win. The same method will apply to a second field of candidates, from which two Alternates will be elected. The Alternate having received more votes would replace the Elector having received more votes, and the Alternate having received fewer votes would replace the Elector having fewer votes, should an Elector resign, die, or be otherwise unable to perform the duties of an Elector. The legislatures of these middle-sized states will also choose, after January 31, and before May 1 of the election year, one Elector and one corresponding Alternate, and if they fail to choose before the deadline, their state will be short an Elector. These states may be represented by no more than 3 Federal Electors, who will have one vote each.
The People of each state having a population greater than five percent, but less than or equal to ten percent of the population of the states plus D.C., will elect three Electors from one field of candidates, by each voter choosing up to two candidates, and the three with the most votes win. The same method will apply to a second field of candidates, from which three Alternates will be elected. The Alternate having received the most votes would replace the Elector having received the most votes, and the Alternate having received the fewest votes would replace the Elector having the fewest votes, should an Elector resign, die, or be otherwise unable to perform the duties of an Elector. The legislatures of these larger states will also choose, after January 31, and before May 1 of the election year, two Electors and two corresponding Alternates, and if they fail to choose before the deadline, their state may remain short of Electors. These states may be represented by no more than five Federal Electors, who will have one vote each.
Each state having a population greater than ten percent of the population of the states plus D.C. will also choose five Federal Electors and Alternates in the same way. Electors of these states will each have two votes when choosing Judges, both of which must be cast together for the same Judge, while all other Electors will each have one vote.
Scheduled Elections and Retirements:
Justices of the Supreme Court, upon adoption of this amendment, will no longer be entitled to a lifetime term, and will leave the Court upon expiration of their terms, as specified herein.
The term of Justice Anthony Kennedy is scheduled to end upon the swearing in of his replacement, who will be chosen by the President within 30 days of the adoption of this amendment, and who, without a vote of disapproval of the Senate within 30 days of nomination, will join the Court, and serve a term of no more than fourteen years.
The term of Justice Clarence Thomas, and the term of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, are both scheduled to end on the 90th day following the adoption of this amendment. These two seats will remain unfilled until after the fourth panel of Federal Electors has been elected.
The first panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine which of them will become the next Justice. The first panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at seven, and the number of Alternate Judges at one. The first panel may appoint no more than three Judges in two years, or four Judges in three years, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the next Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Stephen Breyer is scheduled to end at noon, December 1, during the first year of the first panel of Federal Electors.
The term of Justice John Roberts is scheduled to end at noon, December 1, during the second year of the first panel of Federal Electors.
The second election of Federal Electors will be held two years after the first election of Federal Electors, except that the election will be postponed for one year if it would otherwise fall upon a presidential election year.
The second panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine the order of their ascention to Justice. The second panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at seven, and the Alternate Judges at two, and they will appoint no more than three Judges in two years, or four Judges in three years, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the third Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Samuel Alito is scheduled to end at noon, March 1, 2024.
The third election of Federal Electors will be held two years after the second election of Federal Electors, except that the election will be postponed for one year if it would otherwise fall upon a presidential election year.
The third panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges to temporarily raise their number to four, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine the order of their ascention to Justice. The third panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at seven, and the Alternate Judges at three, and they will appoint no more than four Judges, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the fourth Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Sonia Sotomayor is scheduled to end at noon, December 1, 2025.
The term of Justice Elena Kagan is scheduled to end at noon, March 1, 2027.
The fourth election of Federal Electors will be held Four years after the third election of Federal Electors, except that the election will be postponed for one year if it would otherwise fall upon a presidential election year.
The fourth panel of Federal Electors will, between the 30th and the 90th day following their election, appoint two Alternate Judges, and will assign the order of their swearing-in so to determine the order of their ascention to Justice.
The seats formerly held by Justices Thomas and Ginsburg will be filled on July 15 following the election of the fourth panel of Federal Electors, restoring the number of Supreme Court Justices to nine.
The seat formerly held by Justice Thomas will be filled first, and this new Justice will be scheduled for a term of thirteen years, eight and one half months, to end at noon, April 1.
The seat formerly held by Justice Ginsburg will be filled second, and this new Justice will be scheduled for a term of seventeen years, four months, and seventeen days, to end at noon, December 1.
The fourth panel of Federal Electors will subsequently maintain the number of Justices at nine, and the Alternate Judges at three, and may continue their duties until their term ends at noon, May 31, the year of the fifth Federal Elector election.
The term of Justice Neil Gorsuch is scheduled to end at noon, April 10, 2031. This will be the first term restricted to the new standard of fourteen years.
Future Appointments and Term Limit:
Justices of the Supreme Court will retain their Justice seat, in good behavior, for one term of fourteen years. Upon their resignation, inability, death, removal from office, or expiration of their term, the next Alternate Judge will immediately ascend to full Justice.
A person appointed or elected to the Supreme Court will first serve as an Alternate Judge, who will observe court sessions, but will not participate, except with the consent of a Justice who is absent or recused. Such consent must specify the cases in which the absent or recused Justice will not participate, and the Alternate Judge, having received consent, will remain a participating Justice on and will rule on said cases, and will return to the role of Alternate upon completion of the same cases.
An Alternate Judge will ascend to Associate Justice to fill a vacancy on the Court.
The role of Chief Justice, being unfilled, will be filled by a vote of the Associate Justices choosing one of their own ranks to be Chief. If there were empty seats of the Court at the time of choosing a new Chief, there will be another vote held after all the Justice seats are filled. In the event of a tie, the acting President of the United States will vote to break the tie.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
If I could change one thing, I'd give you two.
The one most important change would be to simply allow people to vote for two.
The two-party system would become a more-than-two-party system, all on its own. No more lesser of two evils. No more "don't throw your vote away." No more spoilers. If you could vote for two, you could vote your conscience AND vote for a mainstream candidate. No more top two, who only need to destroy the other one to win. More positivity. More voter participation. More expensive for the powers-that-be to control them all. More democracy.
See the summary page for the rest of my Presidential election plan. http://constitutionrepair.blogspot.com/2016/10/summary-of-presidential-elections.html?m=0
The two-party system would become a more-than-two-party system, all on its own. No more lesser of two evils. No more "don't throw your vote away." No more spoilers. If you could vote for two, you could vote your conscience AND vote for a mainstream candidate. No more top two, who only need to destroy the other one to win. More positivity. More voter participation. More expensive for the powers-that-be to control them all. More democracy.
See the summary page for the rest of my Presidential election plan. http://constitutionrepair.blogspot.com/2016/10/summary-of-presidential-elections.html?m=0
Saturday, October 1, 2016
About blog posts on Article II, 2016
If you're using a smartphone, you can scroll to the bottom for a link to the full site, that will show a list of posts on the right.
There are three posts published today, October 1, 2016, regarding a revised Article II of the Constitution.
One is the Article II itself, which has long and detailed sentences, like the original Article II. It's a little awkward, but I tried to be thorough.
Another is a relatively brief summary of the proposed Presidential election process, I hope that 2016 will cause others to agree that the old system is not working.
The third post is called an Explanation, which has my commentary on why items were added or changed.
There are three posts published today, October 1, 2016, regarding a revised Article II of the Constitution.
One is the Article II itself, which has long and detailed sentences, like the original Article II. It's a little awkward, but I tried to be thorough.
Another is a relatively brief summary of the proposed Presidential election process, I hope that 2016 will cause others to agree that the old system is not working.
The third post is called an Explanation, which has my commentary on why items were added or changed.
About Constitution Repair
This blog contains my proposals for Constitutional amendments that will make our government better.
The United States Constitution of 1787 was the best compromise our country's founders could make at the time. It describes a basic framework of a federal government, leaving almost all details and policies to be created by those who would serve in the government.
Today the United States is a thriving nation, much to the credit of the Constitution. But throughout our history, the insufficiencies of the Constitution have left America's people at risk. The United States has fought a Civil War, its leaders have even beaten and shot one another; the President's responsibilities are incredibly vast, and at times he seems to have all the power he cares to take, and the Department of Justice will hesitate to investigate the President since the Attorney General is always his appointee and political ally; the military usually has a novice as commander-in-chief; the vagueness of the Constitution allows a handful of judges to tell all of us what our laws must be; Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed with little or no judicial experience, and could hold their position forever if advancing technology keeps them alive, while just as easily, experienced Justices could be appointed for a set term and replaced at regular intervals, and not have one side terrified with thoughts of the other side appointing too many Justices; incumbent Congressmen, who would be fired by a retain-or-fire referendum of all voters, keep winning primaries of loyal party voters and thereby remain in office; the parties have coalesced into two monstrosities as a result of over-fifty-percent-of-electoral-college elections and majority-makes-all-the-rules in Congress, the parties cause countrymen to sacrifice the well being of their country for the sake of helping their cronies win the next election, in 2016 the parties have given us two of the most hated people in our country as the candidates for President, the voters are divided and manipulated by the parties as the voters dare not waste their vote on any candidate outside the big two; and the people are afraid to fulfill the founders' expectation that people should control their own destiny, and protect their own basic rights, by amending the Constitution as needed.
The purpose of this blog is not to scrap our obsolete, and vague, yet extremely important 1787 frame of government, but to propose necessary changes to it, to solidify our many rights that are too important to remain merely implied, and to repair its insufficiencies to provide for the continued success of our marvelous United States of America.
After these updates, many years in the future, Americans may see fit to build a new frame, perhaps resembling the Constitutions of Germany and Japan, which were designed by Americans in the 1940's, or that of South Africa, which was created in the 1990's. But for the United States of 2016, our best hope is to first repair the old one.
Anthony Maloley
Omaha, Nebraska
The United States Constitution of 1787 was the best compromise our country's founders could make at the time. It describes a basic framework of a federal government, leaving almost all details and policies to be created by those who would serve in the government.
Today the United States is a thriving nation, much to the credit of the Constitution. But throughout our history, the insufficiencies of the Constitution have left America's people at risk. The United States has fought a Civil War, its leaders have even beaten and shot one another; the President's responsibilities are incredibly vast, and at times he seems to have all the power he cares to take, and the Department of Justice will hesitate to investigate the President since the Attorney General is always his appointee and political ally; the military usually has a novice as commander-in-chief; the vagueness of the Constitution allows a handful of judges to tell all of us what our laws must be; Justices of the Supreme Court are appointed with little or no judicial experience, and could hold their position forever if advancing technology keeps them alive, while just as easily, experienced Justices could be appointed for a set term and replaced at regular intervals, and not have one side terrified with thoughts of the other side appointing too many Justices; incumbent Congressmen, who would be fired by a retain-or-fire referendum of all voters, keep winning primaries of loyal party voters and thereby remain in office; the parties have coalesced into two monstrosities as a result of over-fifty-percent-of-electoral-college elections and majority-makes-all-the-rules in Congress, the parties cause countrymen to sacrifice the well being of their country for the sake of helping their cronies win the next election, in 2016 the parties have given us two of the most hated people in our country as the candidates for President, the voters are divided and manipulated by the parties as the voters dare not waste their vote on any candidate outside the big two; and the people are afraid to fulfill the founders' expectation that people should control their own destiny, and protect their own basic rights, by amending the Constitution as needed.
The purpose of this blog is not to scrap our obsolete, and vague, yet extremely important 1787 frame of government, but to propose necessary changes to it, to solidify our many rights that are too important to remain merely implied, and to repair its insufficiencies to provide for the continued success of our marvelous United States of America.
After these updates, many years in the future, Americans may see fit to build a new frame, perhaps resembling the Constitutions of Germany and Japan, which were designed by Americans in the 1940's, or that of South Africa, which was created in the 1990's. But for the United States of 2016, our best hope is to first repair the old one.
Anthony Maloley
Omaha, Nebraska
Article II, 2016 Revision
Article. II. Proposed Revision, Year 2016
Section. 1.
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America, who shall hold the Office, together with the Vice President, for the same Term of six Years.
The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of the January following a Presidential election, and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
Before they enter on the Execution of their Office, they shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President (or Vice President) of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
In Case of the Removal of a President from Office, or of a President's Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President.
These are the qualifications of the offices of President and Vice President, and any who do not meet all of the qualifications shall not be included on ballots or be eligible for election or appointment.
A candidate must communicate in American English, and must be a living human person, at least 40 years of age upon inauguration.
A candidate is required to have been born to at least one parent who was at the time a citizen of the United States.
A candidate must have resided as a documented United States citizen for 20 years or longer, in the states, or District of Columbia, or abroad in the service of the United States.
A candidate is required to have served as an elected member of Congress, an elected Governor of a state, or in both offices, for a total of at least four years, before February 1 of the Presidential election year.
A President may not be elected to more than one term, and all votes cast for a previously elected President and any running mates shall be disregarded.
A person who serves an abbreviated time as President shall not be elected or appointed President or Vice President for the beginning of the next term, but after an interval of 3 years out of these offices, the person may again become President or Vice President if previous time as President totaled less than 3 years.
A person who is serving as President may not be a candidate for any office, and may not participate in election campaigns for any candidate or party.
The President shall, at stated Times, receive a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during his or her Term, and the President shall not receive during that Term any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Section. 1.A.
Election of the President
The word "state," where included in these rules for election of a President, refers to the states and to the District of Columbia.
Summary of election process:
Presidential candidates must collect voter signatures for ballot access in each state. A First Round vote will select four candidates in each state to advance, and their votes will be tallied nationally. The top four in the national tally will become finalist candidates, who will select running mates to form candidate tickets. The four tickets will appear on the second round ballot, upon which a voter may vote for up to two tickets, in all states on Presidential Election Day. A number of bonus votes will be generated for the winner of each state, and added to the popular vote, and the ticket receiving the most votes shall become President and Vice President.
Government resources shall not be used to facilitate party primaries or caucuses during a Presidential election year, nor shall party events be used instead of either round of the Presidential election.
Citizens aged eighteen years and older, in good legal standing, may register to vote as a declared member of whatever party they may choose, or as an independent voter.
For any candidate to be eligible for the First Round vote, petition signatures must be collected, starting March 20 of the previous year, and submitted to state authorities before March 20 of the election year, and the candidate must communicate to the state election authority, during the election year and before April 1, a request for ballot access.
A valid petition must have one candidate's name at the top of every page, and must have at least two hundred dated signatures, printed names, addresses, city, and county of registered voters of the state.
States will, if possible, include on the First Round ballot five eligible candidates, one each selected by the five most popular parties in the state before the 1st of April, with party popularity determined by voter registration. States will also include the remaining eligible candidates having the most petition signatures, regardless of party, with the total number of first round candidates on a state ballot not to exceed 25. States may, by law, set a lower numerical limit to apply to all first round candidates, but such a limit shall be no fewer than 10. Party affiliation of any candidate shall not be indicated on the ballot.
Ties for ballot access will be broken by coin toss or other means of determining a random selection.
First Round ballots shall not include a write-in option. If there is some unavoidable disaster, and proper ballot forms are not available, a write-in vote for an eligible ballot candidate shall count, and a vote for a non-ballot candidate shall not count.
American English ballots will be used in all states. States are permitted, but shall not be required, to also provide ballots in other languages.
Ballot access fees are prohibited.
The First Round Election is to be held in every state and the District of Columbia on the Tuesday following the first Monday in June. Absentee ballots shall be made available before May 12. Voters must request absentee ballots from their state or county of residence. Citizens not registered to vote in the states, who are abroad with the military, may not vote in the First Round Election, but may register with the military and vote on Presidential Election Day.
Voters may vote for 0, 1, or 2 candidates. One ballot indicating three or more votes shall be counted as zero votes.
The four eligible candidates, or possibly more in case of a tie, receiving the most votes in each state in the First Round election will have their number of votes from that state, if the number is one thousand or more, advance to the national first round tally. Votes for other candidates will not advance.
If the candidates receiving the least number of votes to be advanced should tie, as in two or more candidates tied for fourth, or three tied for third, or two tied for first and three tied for second, there may be more than four candidates whose votes will advance, as these tied candidates will all advance, but they shall not advance if there are four candidates who received a higher number of votes.
Completed absentee ballots must be sent before First Round election day, and if so sent, and if received before noon on the Tuesday following the second Monday in June, shall be counted. Absentee ballots received after that time shall not be counted.
Each State's First Round Count must be completed and reported to the Congress or designated Federal authority, before noon in the state capital time zone, on the Friday following the 3rd Monday in June.
The National First Round Tally is to be made complete and official by the Congress before the end of business on June 30.
The four candidates having received the highest number of votes in the national first round tally, now called Finalist candidates, will advance to the October Presidential election.
If the candidates receiving the least number of votes to be advanced should tie, as in two or more candidates tied for 4th, or three or more tied for 3rd, there may be more than four finalist candidates as these tied candidates shall all advance, but they shall not advance if there are four finalist candidates who received more votes.
After results of the National First Round Tally are official, and before August 1, candidates shall make known their official choice of running mates, whose names shall also appear on the Presidential Election ballot, and shall be elected with the Presidential candidate. If a running mate is not chosen before August 1, any running mate then chosen would be unofficial, and ineligible to be elected, and would have to be formally nominated after the election. A Presidential finalist may not in the same election also be a running mate. A running mate may only run with one Presidential finalist per election.
Americans of all states and the District of Columbia will vote for President on the third Monday in October. This Presidential Election Day shall be a national holiday, except for government workers necessary for the election. Voters must vote in person, with identification if required by the state, at a designated polling place. Absentee ballots are prohibited.
States will ensure sufficient printing of ballots, and enough polling places with ample capacity for voters. Responsible state and local officials, not to exclude Governors, must follow orders of Federal courts concerning preparations for elections, and may be prosecuted on a Federal charge for an action, or lack of minimal reasonable diligence, that infringes upon the right of citizens to vote.
Anyone who casts votes for President on more than one ballot in the same election shall be subject to a felony charge.
The Federal government shall provide voter registration and polling for citizens serving the United States abroad, and shall count and report this citizens abroad vote total to the Congress.
All Presidential Election Day ballots will include the same 4 tickets, or more if there was a tie, of finalist candidates for President and running mates, and one write-in line for President only.
Voters may vote for 0, 1, or 2 candidates for President.
One ballot having a ballot candidate selected, and the same name written in, should be marked by vote counters, and shall be counted as one vote. An objectively unreadable written vote shall not count. One ballot indicating three or more votes shall be counted as zero votes.
States will count the votes of their own residents, without adding bonus votes, and forward only their popular vote totals to the Congress.
States will not require any of the finalist candidates, nor require of write-in candidates, to petition, or to register, or pay fees, and will not impede their candidacy in any other way, except that if the number of votes for a write-in candidate does not exceed one half of 1% of the total number of votes for the four finalist candidates in a county or state, then the votes for that candidate shall be disregarded in that county or state. The Congress will investigate successful write-in candidates as necessary to confirm their identities and qualifications.
Each state and the District of Columbia will be allowed Bonus Votes to be credited by the Congress to the ticket or candidate that receives the most votes from that state's voters. The formula to determine the equal number of bonus votes for every state is based on the total resident population of all states and the District of Columbia as of the most recent census:
(Population) divided by (Fifty times the number of states including District of Columbia) = (Unrounded number of bonus votes) and round up to the next ten thousand.
Example: (309 million)/(50 times 51) = 121,176 which rounds up to 130,000 bonus votes for each state and the District of Columbia.
The Congress shall reduce the bonus votes of a state down to a number equal to the valid popular votes cast in that state.
If two or more tickets tie for first in a state, the Congress shall divide that state's bonus votes evenly between the tied candidates, and fractions of a bonus vote will be disregarded.
The Congress will tally the popular vote, and add the state bonus votes, and the ticket receiving the most votes will be the winner.
In the event of a national tie, or an impassable deadlock, the bonus votes shall be disregarded, and the popular vote of the Presidential Election shall determine the winner.
If there is then still a mathematical tie, the acting President of the United States shall cast a tie-breaking vote.
If there is no Vice President-elect, or the Vice President-elect is unable to take office, the President-elect shall nominate a Vice President, to be confirmed by the new Senate in January. If not confirmed, the new President shall, before the 4th of February, nominate an eligible sitting Senator, and the Senators shall individually report to the President their choice of the two nominees before the 9th of February, and in case of a tie, the President will decide, even if all Senators refuse to choose.
If any candidate is elected and does not meet the qualifications of Presidency, the person shall not take office. If a winning write-in candidate is found to be unqualified, the Senate will follow the procedure for the event of neither President-elect nor Vice President-elect able to take office.
If there is neither a President-elect nor a Vice President-elect able to take office, the new Senate, within 72 hours of swearing in, will choose a President from three candidates: the person who was Speaker of the House on Presidential Election Day, the sitting Vice President, and the Presidential candidate who ranked next highest in the second round election's popular vote. If the vote is tied, or if no Senators vote, the acting President shall choose between the tied candidates. The President-elect will be inaugurated, and the new President and the Senate will then follow the process below for filling a Vice Presidential vacancy. A President and Vice President selected in this manner shall serve a 2-year term, during the 2nd year of which, there shall be a Presidential election.
If the President-elect is unable to take office, the President-elect's official running mate, having received a winning number of votes and been made Vice President-elect, shall be sworn in as President, after which a new Vice President will be selected under the rule of Vice Presidential vacancy below.
If a vacancy appears in the Vice Presidency, the President shall within 21 days officially nominate two candidates. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate has the option, during the same 21 days, to nominate one qualified member of the Senate, required to be aged at least 58 years but less than 73 years upon nomination. After all nominations are made, the Senators shall within 9 days select one of the nominees, and shall individually and publicly report to the President their vote. The President Pro Tempore's nominee receiving at least 55% of the Senators' votes shall become the new Vice President. The President's nominees shall be confirmed by receiving the most votes, with the President to cast one tie-breaking vote for first or second on the 10th day, even if all Senators refuse to vote. If no winner is produced, the Speaker of the House shall, before the 14th day, publicly choose the new Vice President from the two having received the most votes from Senators, or from Senators and the President if there was a tie-breaking vote cast. If the Speaker of the House does not choose, on the 14th day the President shall make the choice.
The Congress may by law provide additional procedures for the case of the death or incapacity of any of the persons from whom the President, President-elect, or members of Congress may choose a new President or Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death or incapacity of any of the officials who shall have the right of choice.
If the rules of the Constitution and the law are insufficient to properly elect or appoint a President, in disastrous or unforseen circumstances, the Congress may appoint a President with a majority vote among all members of Congress together, and this appointed President may be replaced by another such vote, and any such appointed President shall be replaced by a vote of the citizens.
Section. 2.
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; the President may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
The President shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur.
The President shall nominate, and shall provide notice to the Senate of nominations, and without a Vote of Disapproval of one half of the Senators in sixty days, shall have Power to appoint Justices of the Supreme Court, and in the same way shall nominate and appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
Section. 3.
The President shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration Measures judged to be necessary and expedient. The President may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, may adjourn them to such Time as he or she shall think proper. The President shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers, shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
Section. 4.
The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes.
Section. 1.
The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America, who shall hold the Office, together with the Vice President, for the same Term of six Years.
The terms of the President and the Vice President shall end at noon on the 20th day of the January following a Presidential election, and the terms of their successors shall then begin.
Before they enter on the Execution of their Office, they shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:—"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President (or Vice President) of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
In Case of the Removal of a President from Office, or of a President's Death, Resignation, or Inability to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the Same shall devolve on the Vice President.
These are the qualifications of the offices of President and Vice President, and any who do not meet all of the qualifications shall not be included on ballots or be eligible for election or appointment.
A candidate must communicate in American English, and must be a living human person, at least 40 years of age upon inauguration.
A candidate is required to have been born to at least one parent who was at the time a citizen of the United States.
A candidate must have resided as a documented United States citizen for 20 years or longer, in the states, or District of Columbia, or abroad in the service of the United States.
A candidate is required to have served as an elected member of Congress, an elected Governor of a state, or in both offices, for a total of at least four years, before February 1 of the Presidential election year.
A President may not be elected to more than one term, and all votes cast for a previously elected President and any running mates shall be disregarded.
A person who serves an abbreviated time as President shall not be elected or appointed President or Vice President for the beginning of the next term, but after an interval of 3 years out of these offices, the person may again become President or Vice President if previous time as President totaled less than 3 years.
A person who is serving as President may not be a candidate for any office, and may not participate in election campaigns for any candidate or party.
The President shall, at stated Times, receive a Compensation, which shall neither be increased nor diminished during his or her Term, and the President shall not receive during that Term any other Emolument from the United States, or any of them.
Section. 1.A.
Election of the President
The word "state," where included in these rules for election of a President, refers to the states and to the District of Columbia.
Summary of election process:
Presidential candidates must collect voter signatures for ballot access in each state. A First Round vote will select four candidates in each state to advance, and their votes will be tallied nationally. The top four in the national tally will become finalist candidates, who will select running mates to form candidate tickets. The four tickets will appear on the second round ballot, upon which a voter may vote for up to two tickets, in all states on Presidential Election Day. A number of bonus votes will be generated for the winner of each state, and added to the popular vote, and the ticket receiving the most votes shall become President and Vice President.
Government resources shall not be used to facilitate party primaries or caucuses during a Presidential election year, nor shall party events be used instead of either round of the Presidential election.
Citizens aged eighteen years and older, in good legal standing, may register to vote as a declared member of whatever party they may choose, or as an independent voter.
For any candidate to be eligible for the First Round vote, petition signatures must be collected, starting March 20 of the previous year, and submitted to state authorities before March 20 of the election year, and the candidate must communicate to the state election authority, during the election year and before April 1, a request for ballot access.
A valid petition must have one candidate's name at the top of every page, and must have at least two hundred dated signatures, printed names, addresses, city, and county of registered voters of the state.
States will, if possible, include on the First Round ballot five eligible candidates, one each selected by the five most popular parties in the state before the 1st of April, with party popularity determined by voter registration. States will also include the remaining eligible candidates having the most petition signatures, regardless of party, with the total number of first round candidates on a state ballot not to exceed 25. States may, by law, set a lower numerical limit to apply to all first round candidates, but such a limit shall be no fewer than 10. Party affiliation of any candidate shall not be indicated on the ballot.
Ties for ballot access will be broken by coin toss or other means of determining a random selection.
First Round ballots shall not include a write-in option. If there is some unavoidable disaster, and proper ballot forms are not available, a write-in vote for an eligible ballot candidate shall count, and a vote for a non-ballot candidate shall not count.
American English ballots will be used in all states. States are permitted, but shall not be required, to also provide ballots in other languages.
Ballot access fees are prohibited.
The First Round Election is to be held in every state and the District of Columbia on the Tuesday following the first Monday in June. Absentee ballots shall be made available before May 12. Voters must request absentee ballots from their state or county of residence. Citizens not registered to vote in the states, who are abroad with the military, may not vote in the First Round Election, but may register with the military and vote on Presidential Election Day.
Voters may vote for 0, 1, or 2 candidates. One ballot indicating three or more votes shall be counted as zero votes.
The four eligible candidates, or possibly more in case of a tie, receiving the most votes in each state in the First Round election will have their number of votes from that state, if the number is one thousand or more, advance to the national first round tally. Votes for other candidates will not advance.
If the candidates receiving the least number of votes to be advanced should tie, as in two or more candidates tied for fourth, or three tied for third, or two tied for first and three tied for second, there may be more than four candidates whose votes will advance, as these tied candidates will all advance, but they shall not advance if there are four candidates who received a higher number of votes.
Completed absentee ballots must be sent before First Round election day, and if so sent, and if received before noon on the Tuesday following the second Monday in June, shall be counted. Absentee ballots received after that time shall not be counted.
Each State's First Round Count must be completed and reported to the Congress or designated Federal authority, before noon in the state capital time zone, on the Friday following the 3rd Monday in June.
The National First Round Tally is to be made complete and official by the Congress before the end of business on June 30.
The four candidates having received the highest number of votes in the national first round tally, now called Finalist candidates, will advance to the October Presidential election.
If the candidates receiving the least number of votes to be advanced should tie, as in two or more candidates tied for 4th, or three or more tied for 3rd, there may be more than four finalist candidates as these tied candidates shall all advance, but they shall not advance if there are four finalist candidates who received more votes.
After results of the National First Round Tally are official, and before August 1, candidates shall make known their official choice of running mates, whose names shall also appear on the Presidential Election ballot, and shall be elected with the Presidential candidate. If a running mate is not chosen before August 1, any running mate then chosen would be unofficial, and ineligible to be elected, and would have to be formally nominated after the election. A Presidential finalist may not in the same election also be a running mate. A running mate may only run with one Presidential finalist per election.
Americans of all states and the District of Columbia will vote for President on the third Monday in October. This Presidential Election Day shall be a national holiday, except for government workers necessary for the election. Voters must vote in person, with identification if required by the state, at a designated polling place. Absentee ballots are prohibited.
States will ensure sufficient printing of ballots, and enough polling places with ample capacity for voters. Responsible state and local officials, not to exclude Governors, must follow orders of Federal courts concerning preparations for elections, and may be prosecuted on a Federal charge for an action, or lack of minimal reasonable diligence, that infringes upon the right of citizens to vote.
Anyone who casts votes for President on more than one ballot in the same election shall be subject to a felony charge.
The Federal government shall provide voter registration and polling for citizens serving the United States abroad, and shall count and report this citizens abroad vote total to the Congress.
All Presidential Election Day ballots will include the same 4 tickets, or more if there was a tie, of finalist candidates for President and running mates, and one write-in line for President only.
Voters may vote for 0, 1, or 2 candidates for President.
One ballot having a ballot candidate selected, and the same name written in, should be marked by vote counters, and shall be counted as one vote. An objectively unreadable written vote shall not count. One ballot indicating three or more votes shall be counted as zero votes.
States will count the votes of their own residents, without adding bonus votes, and forward only their popular vote totals to the Congress.
States will not require any of the finalist candidates, nor require of write-in candidates, to petition, or to register, or pay fees, and will not impede their candidacy in any other way, except that if the number of votes for a write-in candidate does not exceed one half of 1% of the total number of votes for the four finalist candidates in a county or state, then the votes for that candidate shall be disregarded in that county or state. The Congress will investigate successful write-in candidates as necessary to confirm their identities and qualifications.
Each state and the District of Columbia will be allowed Bonus Votes to be credited by the Congress to the ticket or candidate that receives the most votes from that state's voters. The formula to determine the equal number of bonus votes for every state is based on the total resident population of all states and the District of Columbia as of the most recent census:
(Population) divided by (Fifty times the number of states including District of Columbia) = (Unrounded number of bonus votes) and round up to the next ten thousand.
Example: (309 million)/(50 times 51) = 121,176 which rounds up to 130,000 bonus votes for each state and the District of Columbia.
The Congress shall reduce the bonus votes of a state down to a number equal to the valid popular votes cast in that state.
If two or more tickets tie for first in a state, the Congress shall divide that state's bonus votes evenly between the tied candidates, and fractions of a bonus vote will be disregarded.
The Congress will tally the popular vote, and add the state bonus votes, and the ticket receiving the most votes will be the winner.
In the event of a national tie, or an impassable deadlock, the bonus votes shall be disregarded, and the popular vote of the Presidential Election shall determine the winner.
If there is then still a mathematical tie, the acting President of the United States shall cast a tie-breaking vote.
If there is no Vice President-elect, or the Vice President-elect is unable to take office, the President-elect shall nominate a Vice President, to be confirmed by the new Senate in January. If not confirmed, the new President shall, before the 4th of February, nominate an eligible sitting Senator, and the Senators shall individually report to the President their choice of the two nominees before the 9th of February, and in case of a tie, the President will decide, even if all Senators refuse to choose.
If any candidate is elected and does not meet the qualifications of Presidency, the person shall not take office. If a winning write-in candidate is found to be unqualified, the Senate will follow the procedure for the event of neither President-elect nor Vice President-elect able to take office.
If there is neither a President-elect nor a Vice President-elect able to take office, the new Senate, within 72 hours of swearing in, will choose a President from three candidates: the person who was Speaker of the House on Presidential Election Day, the sitting Vice President, and the Presidential candidate who ranked next highest in the second round election's popular vote. If the vote is tied, or if no Senators vote, the acting President shall choose between the tied candidates. The President-elect will be inaugurated, and the new President and the Senate will then follow the process below for filling a Vice Presidential vacancy. A President and Vice President selected in this manner shall serve a 2-year term, during the 2nd year of which, there shall be a Presidential election.
If the President-elect is unable to take office, the President-elect's official running mate, having received a winning number of votes and been made Vice President-elect, shall be sworn in as President, after which a new Vice President will be selected under the rule of Vice Presidential vacancy below.
If a vacancy appears in the Vice Presidency, the President shall within 21 days officially nominate two candidates. The President Pro Tempore of the Senate has the option, during the same 21 days, to nominate one qualified member of the Senate, required to be aged at least 58 years but less than 73 years upon nomination. After all nominations are made, the Senators shall within 9 days select one of the nominees, and shall individually and publicly report to the President their vote. The President Pro Tempore's nominee receiving at least 55% of the Senators' votes shall become the new Vice President. The President's nominees shall be confirmed by receiving the most votes, with the President to cast one tie-breaking vote for first or second on the 10th day, even if all Senators refuse to vote. If no winner is produced, the Speaker of the House shall, before the 14th day, publicly choose the new Vice President from the two having received the most votes from Senators, or from Senators and the President if there was a tie-breaking vote cast. If the Speaker of the House does not choose, on the 14th day the President shall make the choice.
The Congress may by law provide additional procedures for the case of the death or incapacity of any of the persons from whom the President, President-elect, or members of Congress may choose a new President or Vice President whenever the right of choice shall have devolved upon them, and for the case of the death or incapacity of any of the officials who shall have the right of choice.
If the rules of the Constitution and the law are insufficient to properly elect or appoint a President, in disastrous or unforseen circumstances, the Congress may appoint a President with a majority vote among all members of Congress together, and this appointed President may be replaced by another such vote, and any such appointed President shall be replaced by a vote of the citizens.
Section. 2.
The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; the President may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.
The President shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur.
The President shall nominate, and shall provide notice to the Senate of nominations, and without a Vote of Disapproval of one half of the Senators in sixty days, shall have Power to appoint Justices of the Supreme Court, and in the same way shall nominate and appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
The President shall have Power to fill up all Vacancies that may happen during the Recess of the Senate, by granting Commissions which shall expire at the End of their next Session.
Section. 3.
The President shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration Measures judged to be necessary and expedient. The President may, on extraordinary Occasions, convene both Houses, or either of them, and in Case of Disagreement between them, with Respect to the Time of Adjournment, may adjourn them to such Time as he or she shall think proper. The President shall receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers, shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed, and shall Commission all the Officers of the United States.
Section. 4.
The President, Vice President, and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes.
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