American Democracy (the solution)
 While I sat in my comparative politics class, my teacher posed the question, “If we as Americans love democracy so much why is the voter turn out so low?” The class preceded to toss out ideas, like we don’t care, there is not enough time etc.. Now, I have only had the opportunity to vote in one presidential election, so I began to contemplate what would make me loose the drive to cast my ballot. There are obvious reasons like a death in the family, or some sort of family emergency; but something bigger came out in my thought process. I think Americans are feeling lied to, even though the candidates they voted for may be in office, nothing is getting done. Their vote for that person accomplished little besides changing the face of failure.
This letter is not meant to discuss the Electoral College, nor is it meant to re-discuss the ballots in Florida. I simply want to pose a provocative idea; one that I hope can reach across party lines and make people realize we have room for improvement.
First, let’s look at our politics. As a representative democracy we are forced to believe that all ideas fit into two categories Republican or Democrat. Now I am a true conservative, but due to this two party system I must vote for Republicans. This puts me in a tuff place. For example, as a conservative I don’t feel that the answer to our failing school systems is “No Child Left Behind”. In a two party system though, I must vote for this believe simply because “its better then the other guy”. Soon I will show you the solution.
Second, cowardly reform will never be a final answer. I am 21 years old, and have noticed EVERY election is flooded with the same old discussions about tax reform, S.S. reform, health care reform, welfare reform etc… We don’t need reform though, we need solutions, and the solutions already exist. Tax reform has Fair Tax, S.S. reform has privatizing social security, but party leader are too afraid to embrace those ideas. They are afraid of embracing these ideas because they may have been proposed by the opposing party. TWO PARTY POLITICS, I have a solution.
I, an ordinary citizen, have two options when voting; vote for the democrats that will accomplish very little, or vote for the republicans that will accomplish very little.
THE SOLUTION
The answer is not going from a First-Past-The-Post-System of elections to a Proportional Representation like Britain; rather change the basics in how a ballot is cast. I propose A Points Based Voting System. In this system each citizen will get the ability to vote twice. One vote will be worth two points, while the other vote will be worth one. As you will see, this will give the citizens a HUGE amount of power, by not tying them down to a two party system.
To create an example lets say candidate A is running as a democrat. Candidate A has enough money to sustain a worthy campaign, but does not have the support in a huge field of democratic opponents, to win the party’s nomination. After losing the nomination, candidate A decides to run as an independent. Let us say that he gets 3-5% of the vote in the general election. If the previous elections are any indications of how this election goes, that 3-5% would be greatly used for the party in which he was originally affiliated. Thus, Candidate A which was originally democrat turned independent could have cost the democrats the election. This situation is not foreign to us, we have seen it multiple times in the past, and we will continue to see it until things change.
In the same situation, using the points system the outcome could have been different. I could have used 2 points for candidate A, and then cast a “second choice” ballot for the party of my choice. Because the independent candidate would receive two points, and the BIG PARTY would only receive one, the citizens have more control of what ideas they want to see implemented. This also gives the independent a better chance for victory, the citizens can feel more comfortable with voting for that independent, because they can cast that “second choice” ballot. This essentially says that if my candidate, in this instance, candidate A doesn’t win, I defiantly don’t want party B to win so I am going to cast my one point ballot for party C.
When we allow Independents a chance to win it creates a campaign based off of true ideas, instead of debates about elephants and donkeys.
We need competition, not a two party monopoly. Competition will create new ideas that will drive our society to the “new frontier”.
Thanks,
Shelby Barker
Conservatives for Truth President
UWG CAMPUS
678-371-5322
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