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"Democracy" in the American Continent. Voting System Needs Major Changes
- I want to, please ask, request, that the Democratic, equality, respectful citizens of USA help change the hypocritical, un-democratic, obsolete, even illegal -"delegates", "electorates" voting system of USA to the true democratic popular vote-the People's- voting system, especially for any, very important issues, that will influence the American population in the short & long terms, like wars, global economy, NAFTA, etc. No electorate or delegate genuinely represents me, &/or the 300 million North Americans. It's totally unacceptable & against democratic principles that the continent of America (north, central & south, we're all Americans), & that the country of USA & its territories like Puerto Rico, still function under such an obsolete, absurd, system! Please, set the trend & example now that USA has the opportunity!
- Every Government representative "elected by the People", should be selected & voted for every 4 years, including the Supreme Court Judges.
- The Supreme Court, to be really inclusive, legal & fair, needs to have 1 judge representing each State, not just 9, for life! It's anti-constitutional! Only God(dess) is forever!
- I highly recommend that voting machines are made available at any USA Federal, State, County, City Govt. resources, including schools, libraries, buildings, etc. Make sure that those Govt. branches also make their web sites internationally inclusive since we live in 1 world now, thanks to the computers (machines) since we, humans, especially a lot of ignorant, arrogant, convenient, interested, greedy, immature men & the women that support, feed, buy, their BS, inequalities, disrespect, corruption, & even imitate their conterproductive attitudes, behaviors, philosophies, etc, still haven't grown up enough. The energies are way out of balance because men's energies have been 2 imposing, for 2 long!. We need a lot more female energies if we want to preserve the paradise, & Creation that God(dess) gave us.
- I hope that when Mr. Obama makes it to the presidency of US of North America, he shows genuine democratic collaboration by recruiting any decent, inclusive, former Democratic (including Sen. Hillary Clinton) & some Republican candidates that can help restore the faith, the trust, the prestige, the reputation, the fairness, the ethics, the morals, the human rights, & all of the good things that USA stands for, & send them around the world as embassadors to accomplish such a job.
- Also, that Mr. Obama's administration uses the money they collect to pay what it's owed, & to help USA become more self reliable, independent again. For Ethanol, grow sugar cane instead of corn, like Brazil, or use Hydrogen (ocean water), like Sweden!
Let's rebuild America's image & principles! I'll highly appreciate it. Muchas gracias.
Sandra Lugo-Camacho
Puerto Rico
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Hi Sandra, nice to have you
Hi Sandra, nice to have you on the blog.
Here are some thoughts on your points.
1. Actually there are currently two interesting initiatives attempting electoral reform. The first is in the senate and would completely do away with the electoral college-it's probably not going to pass. The second, much more interesting (in my mind), is a statewide campaign to get state legislatures to sign a pledge to throw their electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote--assuming that states totaling 270 EVs signed the pledge (and several already have), it would do away with with the electoral college.
2 and 3. I like the idea of changing elected terms for represenatives to three years--simply because as the system stands now they're in a case of constant campaigning. But I completely disagree with your points about the supreme court. When you say that the supreme court is anti-constitutional, you actually mean that it's undemocratic (after all the courts are spelled out in the constitution).
Yes, they are undemocratic--they're suppose to be. The supreme court wasn't creating to represent the will of the people, as the legislature and the executive branch are, its created to uphold the constitution. Elections would undermine this if judges were worried more about getting elected than upholding the law. Because they're not suppose to be representative, there really isn't a point to having a judge for every state.
4. Since voting machines are easily tampered with, I'd say its more important to put forward laws requiring a paper copy of every ballot. I'm not sure what you mean by making websites international inclusive. Do you mean translated into other languages?
5. He's already said he would do this.
6. Yes!
Thanks,
Dan
Hello Dan: "Democracy" & Voting Changes
Hello Dan & thanks for sharing. I like your perspectives.
Yes, it's a real shame that the citizens/residents of the American continent, along with USA, can't have their own, individual, votes count for their individual selection to select the government representatives, including the President, VP, & Supreme Court Judges. We have to depend on electorates, delegates, etc, to do it for us. I support the Electoral College for small, every day issues, but not for wars, major economical changes, etc.
Campaigning should only be made legal 4-6 months before any elections. That way the politicians can concentrate on doing the jobs that they were selected for: to serve the American continent, & not their own, or other's special interests. It would give other candidates a more neutral, fair, ground financially wise.
Every State should have 1 Supreme Court judge representing the State, to genuinely add variety, diversity, respect, equality, etc. to the democratic system. When it comes to practicing, enforcing ethics, that's what peer professional &/or watchdog organizations are for, to keep them honest, in line. The judges should be selected every 4 yrs. by the People, & not only the President, so that they don't feel "pressured" by such President, or the Administration. Now, they can do whatever they want, without supervision, etc. Their responsibility & oath is to "blind justice", to the Constitution, to Human Rights, & to Democracy.
Whatever voting system is ethical, efficient, productive, convenient, easily accessible, through the facilities of the federal, State, City, etc, government levels, then, that's what the People deserves. The media resources need to be used to inform, educate &/or promote when, where, what, etc, are the issues, the candidates, the elections, etc., are.
Dan, when I said making the web sites International, I meant, including the names of all the world's countries in the link to the State/Countries abbreviations. I believe Puerto Rico & other USA territories are not included in your organization's web sites links. Please, check. Thanks.
Happiness keeps you sweet. Trials keep you strong. Sorrows keep you human. Failures keep you humble. Success keeps you glowing, but only God(dess) keeps you going! Go from "Impossible!" to "I'm Possible!". Be Your Own Dream!. Love, Peace, Health, Wisdom, Fun& Joy
Sandra Lugo-Camacho
Puerto Rico
I agree with you that the
I agree with you that the court is responsible for unbiased justice--and that's why judges can't be elected officials. It's hard to be unbiased when your job is on the line. Can you imagine Brown V Board of Education existing if the courts had waited for public opinion to come around? Representing by state brings the same problem--complicating loyalties behind just to the constitution.
Also, I'm not sure what your talking about with state/territory links on our website.
Dan Klein
Communications Intern
Young People For
People For the American Way Foundation
149 5th Avenue, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10010
212.420.0440 x25
Dan: Bias-Unbiased Judges Selected by "the President"
Dan, so u think that a Supreme Court Judge elected by just 1 person, the President of USA, & its administration is going to be more "unbiased"? I don't think so. On the contrary, s/he can feel more endebted to Mr. President instead of to the People, the Constitution & his/her oath. The more democrasy, pressure, & honesty from the public to do the job appropriately, the better ethical professional s/he'll be. That's my opinion, based on my experience.
Happiness keeps you sweet. Trials keep you strong. Sorrows keep you human. Failures keep you humble. Success keeps you glowing, but only God(dess) keeps you going! Go from "Impossible!" to "I'm Possible!". Be Your Own Dream!. Love, Peace, Health, Wisdom, Fun & Joy,
Sandra Lugo-Camacho
Puerto Rico
Juries?
I think juries are where it's at. It's the one judicial institution that's compatible with democratic values. We could - and should - overhaul the system through which jurors should be picked, and it'd be fun to see how we could set up appeals courts using a jury model.
At the very least, Supreme Court Justices should be elected popularly - they do that in many states already. They could serve for only one term, say, 10 years? That'd be cool.
Sandra, I have collected
Sandra, I have collected quite a bit of information on how we vote, and am working as a poll clerk for the fifth year. There are a lot of problems with how we vote. One is that very, very few have any real idea what super-delegates are(or even the electoral college). Finally, that is becoming better understood. Also - Republicans don't have them.
You suggested a Supreme Court Justice from each state. That court would be so huge, getting anything done would be next to impossible. I can't see other comments now, but the explanation about the court was very good. It is organized just as stated in the Constitution and is intended to be the least democratic of the three branches of U.S. federal government.
I expect and certainly hope that we will be discussing Marbury v. Madison, an incredibly important legal case. I look forward to class together.
Carol
Dan, let's be real & practical about The People selecting Justic
Dan, The People has more common sense, rights & responsibilities toward Justice, than the corrupted way Justice representatives are being selected now. Not because The People selects them, mean that they're going to do what The People, or Democracy, needs or wants. Politicians, electorates, super-delegates, still end up doing what they want, but with more subjectivity & corruption.
I don't agree that it'll be too many judges in the Supreme Court if each state has 1 rep. per State. What about Congress & the House of Representatives? Actually, that's were we need them the most. Supreme Court Judges need to get off their behinds, & get more involved with the US Justice System, ethically, integrity, wise.
I love the idea of having trials by Jury. I'm for The People there 2.
Happiness keeps you sweet. Trials keep you strong. Sorrows keep you human. Failures keep you humble. Success keeps you glowing, but only God(dess) keeps you going! Go from "Impossible!" to "I'm Possible!". Be Your Own Dream!. Love, Peace, Health, Wisdom,
Hi Sandra. I still can't see
Hi Sandra. I still can't see how this could be implemented.
1. Would the 50 judges actually be selected by state? As in would Wyoming (Pop 515,000) get as many Judges on the court as California (Pop 36,500,000... or 70 Wyoming's). The concept of the Senate is already pretty offensive to me see: http://robertdfeinman.com/society/senate_vs_population.html.
To put it into other terms. Currently well over half of the US population lives in 10 States, and over a third lives in five (California, Florida, Texas, Illinois, New York). In the legislature at least, the Senate is balanced by the House of Representatives. Having a state-picked court system would only swing the balance away from the people--now, atleast we know the make up of the court is created by someone who gets 50% support from voters. By the 50-state SCOTUS we would get a court where 50% of voters only get to chose 20% of the court.
2. Your comparison to the legislature is kind of important. Think how long it takes congress to decide to tie their own shoes (and that's only after the sub-committee on footwear approves an up or down vote on whether to open debate on the merits of bunny ties). Even though getting to SCOTUS is a years long process, it has hastened by the right to a speedy trial... Something that would be prolonged even further by 50 judges, all of whom are spending half their time on the campaign trail.
Dan Klein
Communications Intern
Young People For
People For the American Way Foundation
149 5th Avenue, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10010
212.420.0440 x25
I think some kind of
I think some kind of sortition would be best - maybe from a pool of legal scholars, or maybe, if the number of people on the "court" is large enough, the general population.
I'm interested, but who
I'm interested, but who would write the opinions?... Actually, if a famous writer got picked, how awesome would that be. I'm imagining Mark Twain writing an opinion completely sarcastically, or Thoreau writing an opinion that only sets precedent for Thoreau. What does a post-modern legal decision look like? I bet Don Delillo would know.
I think I like sortition as long as it's limited to legal scholars, prose writers, the Detroit Pistons 2004 championship team and Muppets.
Dan Klein
Communications Intern
Young People For
People For the American Way Foundation
149 5th Avenue, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10010
212.420.0440 x25
That's What Datelines, Set Times, are for: efficiency & producti
You're right Dan, & that's what Datelines, & where set times, boundaries, are for: efficiency & productivity, equality, justice, respect & more.
Happiness keeps you sweet. Trials keep you strong. Sorrows keep you human. Failures keep you humble. Success keeps you glowing, but only God(dess) keeps you going! Go from "Impossible!" to "I'm Possible!". Be Your Own Dream!. Love, Peace, Health, Wisdom,