End Voter Suppression, Gerrymandering, the Electoral College….and the Money Power
We must:
1. revolutionize the nuts and bolts of how we vote; 2. end gerrymandering & the Electoral College;
3. remove the money power from politics.
Dating from Florida 2000/Ohio 2004, we’re grounded in books, articles, speeches, media appearances, organizing events, and on-going zoom gatherings with EP experts & campaigners.
We aim by 2024 to reshape our foundational political process into a modern, efficient, incorruptible democratic system that reliably reflects the true wishes of the American people:
1. REVOLUTIONIZE THE NUTS & BOLTS OF HOW WE VOTE
Expand and protect a universal voter registration process
Same-day registration must be allowed through Election Day.
Photo ID may not be required for voting.
Legal witness sheets may not be required for voting by mail or other. Felons retain their voting rights regardless of fines/fees owed. Citizens may not be disenfranchised for lack of a street address.
No voter may purged without 90 days advance public notice. Proposed purges must be approved by a multi-partisan commission. Any potential purge is subject to a public legal hearing.
Notice must come by over-sized post cards and phone/text.
Mail a ballot to each registered voter 30 days before Election Day
Make Election Day and the three days prior a national holiday. Expand early voting to 21 days before Election Day.
Restore neighborhood voting centers.
Proliferate ballot drop boxes.
Promote drive-through voting.
Adapt all sports stadiums/arenas as voting centers.
Ban weapons within 2500 feet of any voting center.
Harassment of anyone standing in a voting line is a federal felony. Local police forces must secure voting lines.
Issue clear guidelines on acceptance/rejection of paper ballots.
Any ballot postmarked on or before Election Day must be counted. Deadlines to finish count/recounts are 30 days after Election Day. No ballot may be disqualified without an attempted “cure” process. Anyone in line at Election Day closing time must be allowed to vote. All precincts must provide voters with multi-lingual staff.
Poll workers must live in the precinct where they work.
Poll workers may be as young as 15 years old.
All paper ballots must be scanned, with digital images preserved.
Touchscreen machines are banned except for special needs. All ballots must be processed and scanned as received.
All poll books must be preserved for 22 months.
All digital images must be preserved for 22 months.
All paper ballots must be preserved for 22 months.
Chains of custody must be subject to transparent public scrutiny. No results may be issued until the polls close Election Day.
All coding of scanning machines must be public record.
No scanning machines may be linked to the internet. Elections with margins within 2.5% must be recounted. Recounts are done with both ballot images and paper ballots. No candidate is to be charged for recounts within 2.5%.
Poll tapes are to be photographed & cataloged by precinct. Poll tape records are publicly audited with central tabulators.
2. END GERRYMANDERING & ABOLISH THE ELECTORAL COLLEGE Federal law must establish non-partisan districting commissions.
These commissions will determine all state/federal representation. California’s state/federal districting commission may be a template. Multi-representational districts must be established.
Ranked choice voting must be established.
Federal, state & local constitutional amendments must establish the districting commissions and abolish the Electoral College.
Until abolition, the Electoral College is bound to the popular majority.
3. GET THE MONEY OUT OF POLITICS
Reverse all Court decisions banning campaign finance controls. Money is NOT speech!!!
Achieving all this may not be easy. But it will be fun.
With the gathered expertise of the last two decades, and a long-haul team of dedicated election protectionists, even the forced departure of Donald Trump must be considered possible.
