How would you amend the U.S. constitution?

[garbon]

throw in FDR's extra bill of rights

Yeah a bunch of new vague rights would be great...

[dps]

Dump Tuesdays  as appointed election days.  We are no longer an agrarian nation that requires two days' travel by horse and buggy after church services on Sundays to polling places, so it is no longer necessary. 

Since Republicans seem to have such an obvious problem with early voting, either 1) make it a Federal holiday so people can truly participate, or 2) do what the Europeans do and vote on weekends.

While I actually kind of like the idea of election day being a federal holiday, I'm not sure it would accomplish much--most of us who aren't federal workers don't get federal holidays off anyway.

Holding elections on weekends would probably actually depress voting turnout, at least if election day was still in the fall--it would conflict with watching football on TV.

[Eddie Teach]

Holding elections on weekends would probably actually depress voting turnout, at least if election day was still in the fall--it would conflict with watching football on TV.

You're probably watching too much football if that's a bigger impediment than a shift at work.

[CountDeMoney]

While I actually kind of like the idea of election day being a federal holiday, I'm not sure it would accomplish much--most of us who aren't federal workers don't get federal holidays off anyway.

Holding elections on weekends would probably actually depress voting turnout, at least if election day was still in the fall--it would conflict with watching football on TV.

You don't have to be a federal worker to get federal holidays off, plenty of employers honor them, just like plenty of employers honor MLK's birthday even if some don't.  Even a few more people able to exercise the day as a holiday would be an improvement.

Besides, making it a holiday or pushing it onto the weekend it would be of immense help to people who have to wind up taking the day off from work anyway, burning up a personal leave day to watch their little shits, since most polling places are schools and are closed on Election Day anyway.

The ability to voting shouldn't mean you should have to take a day off to do it.  I know Republicans prefer it that way, but that's fucked up.

[garbon]

People take whole days off to vote? What dedication.

[CountDeMoney]

People take whole days off to vote? What dedication.

Stop hating on the breeders, g.  It's so very Martinus.

[dps]

Polling places in most states are open at least 12 hours on election day.  Not many people work shifts that long.

You're probably watching too much football if that's a bigger impediment than a shift at work.

Sure, but there are people out there with that outlook. 

Of course, if you don't vote because you'd rather keep your butt parked on the couch watching TV (regardless of what you're watching), it isn't anyone's fault but your own that you didn't get to vote.

[garbon]

People take whole days off to vote? What dedication.

Stop hating on the breeders, g.  It's so very Martinus.

Can you expand on that logic? On its face it appears quite a leap.

[jimmy olsen]

Keep the voting booths open 3 days, Saturday through Monday.

[CountDeMoney]

People take whole days off to vote? What dedication.

Stop hating on the breeders, g.  It's so very Martinus.

Can you expand on that logic? On its face it appears quite a leap.

Fucking people with fucking school aged children that need to take the fucking day off on their own fucking personal fucking time because the fucking local elementary school is fucking closed because it's a fucking polling place.  Fuck.  It's not that fucking much of a fucking leap.

[Ideologue]

People take whole days off to vote? What dedication.

I know living in Mega City One may have inured you to this, but for a lot of people it is borderline necessary.  My girlfriend, for example, commutes almost an hour each way every day.  (Every day she works, anyway.  Some people apparently still get to work 40 hour weeks.)  Her leave, which she applied for a good two months ago, wasn't approved and she's going to have a hell of a time getting back home to try to vote.

Now, granted, it's foolish to live an hour away from your job, but that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes.

Edit: but you know, I think she could've voted early.  I wonder why she didn't do that?

[garbon]

And they would be better served by a holiday or weekend when they'd have to look after the children? Seems like it would make more sense not to have kids education interrupted and not have school as polling place.

[Viking]

There are a few suggestions I'd have for the election and election financing laws.

- FCC mandates a public service obligation for broadcasters to broadcast british style party political broadcasts in the leadup to the election. This gives Obama and Romney (plus the well supported 3rd party candidate) 30 minutes of prime time to explain to the voter exactly why they should vote for him or her. This will be like the debates a benchmark for the undecided voter to hear and evaluate. This will reduce the effect of election advertisements.

- Revamp election funding by permitting unlimited public donations to candidates and state and national parties and ending all these PAC regulations and rules. This will return money to the party and candidates which have to look at the big picture not single issue groups like the sierra club or americans for tax reform. This will reduce attack adds since the official campaigns will have to justify any swiftboating they do and those who donate to PACs will have to justify to the public and their kids why they didn't just give to the official campaign.

- Single transferrible vote. In an age of computers there is no reason not to do this. No more tactical voting.

- Primaries. I like the primary system since it gives a "minor league" opportunity for candidates to prove themselves. We would never had Clinton without it. I'd randomize the order. Break up the states into 5 seed categories based on electoral votes. Round 1 go through the first 10 one state at a time from smallest to largest. e.g. Wyoming, then Connecticut, then Washington, the Georgia and then New York in the first round. Then the first super tuesday with 5 states, then three super tuesdays with 10 states, then another 5 state tuesday and then the last 5 in decending order opposite of the first group. This permits smaller and less well known candidates to try and campaign face to face in the first small states. Since the order isn't fixed Iowa's farming policy ceases to be so super relevant.

- Vary electoral votes by turnout. Weigh it at say 50% (or whatever). Does your state have 12 electoral votes today? 2 senators. It now has 7. For every 20% of turnout it gets it gets one more. 5 EV? it now has 4 and gets another 1 if you get more than 50% turnout. Now candidates have a reason to campaign in their safe states as well. Texas, California and New York will now get some presidential love.

- And the wild suggestion. Redistributative electoral votes. Norway has a system of PR in multi seat districts where votes which don't produce candidates but support parties getting more than 4% get moved to other districts where these votes now combined produce a successful parliamentarian.

[PDH]

Having thought about it, here is my list of needed changes:

1.  Make blood sports legal.
2.  Outlaw any gun smaller than .50 cal.
3.  Allow the government to quarter soldiers in private homes.
4.  Make the voting age 40.
5.  Choose the president randomly by the one that grabs the black bean from the jar.
6.  At the end of every term, all politicians are killed.
7.  Free beer at football games.

[Razgovory]

Those Jean Claude van Damme movies are illegal?  Now that I look that up, Van Damme was only in one of those movies.  Also Forest Whitaker was in it.  I had no idea.