If America is ever to truly attain government of the people, by the people, for the people, the laws and institutions representing our Electoral System must be reformed to promote voter participation, increase transparency in elections, create a level playing field among candidates, and foster an environment wherein elected officials are representative of the values, interests, and priorities of the majority of American constituents.

 

An overhaul of the American Electoral System therefore is the number one priority of the Five Point Plan, to include the following reforms at a minimum:

 

1. Abolish the Electoral College and base the Presidential Election solely upon the outcome of a National Popular vote;

2. Adopt Instant Runoff (or Ranked Choice) voting, allowing voters to rank their choice of candidates by preference, rather than forcing them to choose the “least worst” candidate with the best chance of winning;

3. Create a Public Campaign fund for all Federal elections, by:

a. $200 annual campaign finance fee for all Corporations with gross revenues of up to $200k annually, to increase by $150 for each additional $150k of revenue earned annually;

b. $50 annual campaign finance fee for all voting age Citizens earning between $40k to $50k annually, to increase by $50 for each additional $50k earned or part thereof (subject to $50 tax refund for Citizens who submit proof of having voted in the Federal Election for that tax year);

c. $100 additional tax for non-vote in Federal Election;

4. Nullify Citizens United Supreme Court decision by enacting a 28th Amendment to the Constitution establishing that:

a. Constitutional rights are for NATURAL persons only;

b. the 1st Amendment Constitutional protection of free speech is limited to spoken and/or written human speech and discourse in the literal sense only, and does not refer to expenditures/contributions of money or services on behalf of political campaigns;

5.  Restore critical Voting Rights Act protections struck down by the Supreme Court, including requiring "pre-clearance" of election law changes among jurisdictions with voting rights violations, and strengthen legal mechanisms for halting future discriminatory election measures.

6. Criminalize all monetary donations, services or other activity by any lobby, organization, or business in support of any candidate for public office or any specific Political Party;

7. Limit monetary donations on the part of individuals in support of any candidate for public office to $250;

8. Increase Voter access to the polls by:

a. Same-day voter registration;

b. Early vote-by-mail; and

c. Holding elections on a Saturday and Sunday;

9. Guarantee equal access to publicly owned airwaves (via TV, Radio, Internet) to candidates for public office;

10. Transfer Voting and Election powers from partisan Secretaries of State to a non-partisan independent agency (similar to State Ethics Commission) whose members are themselves prohibited from seeking office.

11.  Eliminate electronic voting machines with transparent, fraud-proof, non-hackable, and easily recountable traditional paper ballots;

12. Create nonpartisan state-by-state Electoral District Commissions to review and administer districts and eliminate the practice of partisan "gerrymandering."

 

Our current American political campaign and electoral system has been rigged for the benefit of Corporations and the mega rich. The most egregious example of this is the legalization of unlimited spending on campaigns by corporations, Political Action Committees, private individuals, and potentially foreign entities.  Mainly a result of the “Citizens United” Supreme Court decision of 2012, this privatization of our campaign system all but assures better access to Government Representation for those sectors among our society which have the most to spend on their candidates of choice.

At a minimum, to restore Democracy to our Electoral System, we must remove the overwhelming influence of private money from the campaign process. Our system must assure every Citizen equal access to the electoral process, and encourage, rather than suppress, voter turnout.  It should promote diversity of political opinion among candidates and guarantee that the United States President is elected based upon a majority of Popular votes, rather than that of 538 electors representing the "Electoral College."