How to Run a Free and Fair Election: 10 Changes I’d Make
HOW TO RUN A FREE AND FAIR ELECTION
Here are 10 campaign-election laws I’d implement right now, if I had the power:
(1) SHORTEN CAMPAIGNS — Limit the duration of the political “campaign season” season. Make it 6 weeks long. Whatever. Just pick a time frame. That’s enough. Make it 4 weeks for party primaries. That’s enough time. This year-around non-stop election cycle must end. It’s counterproductive. It turns people off. People tune out.
(2) MAKE IT LIKE OTHER COUNTRIES — I can’t emphasize Point #1 enough. So, let me offer some country comparisons: Canada’s election season is about 10 weeks long. Mexico’s general election campaigns start just 90 days before election day, no sooner. In Argentina, it’s 60 days, by law. In France, it’s just two weeks! Campaigning outside of these calendar boundaries is even illegal in some countries. Is this a “free speech” issue? Probably. Would limitation on campaigning ever pass a Supreme Court challenge? No way. But, this is a huge problem and something needs to be done about it.
(3) OUTLAW PACS IN CAMPAIGN SEASON — So, you’re sick of all those negative attack ads from mysterious “dark money” groups on television. Apparently, not. Because those dirty ads work. They tip the scales in close races. So, you can thank DARK MONEY for determining the future of our country. A recent bill to force PACs to disclose all the names of donors failed in the United States Senate only a month ago, with every single Republican voting against it. Why? Because Republicans benefit disproportionally from a bombardment of dark money. PACs sling mud, spew lies, and aren’t accountable to anyone. Even political campaigns can distance themselves from these slimy groups. PAC advertising should be OUTLAWED. I’d make this an FCC regulation. Of course, this would never win approval nor be considered constitutional.
(4) OVERTURN CITIZENS UNITED — Related somewhat to Point #3, I’d overturn Citizens United (what a misleading name for a legal case!). Citizens United was a controversial 2010 Supreme Court decision that further tilted political influence toward wealthy donors and corporations. Given how awful campaigns have become since then, we really are headed for a redux of the ugly Gilded Age, that is, if we’re not there already. America is reverting back to robber-baron territory, especially when it comes to political influence. Blame Citizens United for what amounts to destroying the “one person-one vote” principle.
(5) BAN POLITICAL SOLICITATION CALLS — Unsolicited political phone calls should be illegal. The bombardment of campaign calls has become epidemic. They are an invasion or privacy and a violation of our space and time. This too, would never pass nor win in court. However, whatever it takes to reduce, if not outright eliminate candidate telemarketing is something I support. I think most Americans agree. Who out there likes receiving political phone calls? [well, I do — but that’s because I toy with them and blow their eardrums out.]
(6) MAKE FALSE/DECPTIVE POLLING ILLEGAL — Make false polls (and especially push polls) illegal with violations punishable by imprisonment. It’s annoying to have your phone ringing off the hook from political candidates and PACs. It’s quite another when the source of the call is LYING. A dirty tactic that’s used by both parties is “push polling,” which is a phone call disguised as a poll, when the real intent is to gradually persuade and influence the voter in the way questions are crafted and “information” is presented. Why do we allow outright fraud and deception to be legal in political campaigns? We don’t let food product companies lie about what’s inside the package — shouldn’t some standards also apply to politics?
(7) FEDERALIZE ALL ELECTIONS — Election laws should be federalized. We need a universal system for all Americans, administered equally and fairly. Left up to the states, this fundamental tenant of democracy has become a giant checkerboard of mass confusion. Some states allow voting weeks in advance. Others do not. Some states have strict rules about mail-in ballots. Others are more lenient. Some states require IDs. Others argue about what exactly constitutes an ID. States have a horrendous historical track record when it comes to administering elections and it was only dozens of federal laws and court rulings over many decades that protected the rights of millions of votes. This is a fundamental principle of democracy that demands federal guidelines.
(8] CLEAN-UP DIRTY POLITICAL ADVERTISING — Political advertising laws need to be updated/changed. Guess who benefits the most from our broken political system? Guess who makes a gutter fortune off of PACs, dark money, lies, mudslinging, and the ugliness of American politics? Answer — CORPORATIONS. Giant media companies are making a fortune off of thousands of political ad buys. Those television commercials cost money. In Pennsylvania alone during this campaign season, a whopping $148 million was spent on TV ads just on the Senate race since Sept. 1st! In just one state! All that dirty money gets funneled into media companies. No, not media newsrooms and journalists. CORPORATIONS. What a dirty, disgusting system. I’m not sure how to change this, other than the FCC intervening and making laws that political advertising can only run for a limited period.
(9) MAKE THEM PAY FOR LYING — Make libel and slander laws more applicable to political races. We almost never see any civil lawsuits related to politics. They’re costly, hard to win, and even counterproductive for the plaintiff. However, we’ve reached outlier territory where outright falsehoods are being propagated on a mass scale. I don’t mean expressing fringe opinions. I’m talking about blatant lies. Sadly, this happens in both parties. FTC standards need to be tightened and grievances (violations) should have some outlet for expression and correction.
(10) CLEAN UP THE TRASH — Make posting political signs anywhere except private property illegal, and subject to heavy fines. Every street corner in the city is now littered with political signage. If this happened once every 4 years, perhaps that’s tolerable. But now, it’s 24/7/30/365. Those litter signs are everywhere. All the time. Primary season. City council races. National elections. Trashy signs are everywhere. Overwhelmingly, those signs are stuck illegally on city land, vacant lots, and areas that aren’t approved for signage. If you want to put up a political sign for your favorite candidate in your front lawn — great. Do it. But this is a litter epidemic that makes our communities look like a Third World banana republic. Enough! Ban these eyesores.
Oh, and one more thing: #11 — Stop holding runoffs, like is expected in Georgia. Just stop it. The candidate with the MOST VOTES WINS. Simple. Stop making people go through the meat grinder a second time and another $100 million in campaign spending. Runoff elections are stupid.
That’s it. Elect me, and I’ll push for these changes.
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