How would you amend the U.S. constitution?

[Viking]

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

1.  Make blood sports legal.

Obviously your team needs Michael Vick

2.  Outlaw any gun smaller than .50 cal.

The Brown Bess is .71 cal.

3.  Allow the government to quarter soldiers in private homes.

See the Brown Bess bit

4.  Make the voting age 40.

meh... Wyoming must be the Argentina of the North

5.  Choose the president randomly by the one that grabs the black bean from the jar.

The Copts already pick their Pope like that.  http://edition.cnn.com/2012/11/04/world/africa/egypt-coptic-pope/index.html

6.  At the end of every term, all politicians are killed.

Disagree, Clinton and Carter have been good Ex-Presidents

7.  Free beer at football games.

OK, that settles it. I'm up for your program.

[Brazen]

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.

We don't have a particular day for elections in the UK, but it's never weekends. We have polling stations open from 7am to 10pm, and they're within walking distance for city and suburban voters, and postal votes are an option everywhere else.

[Valmy]

I Straight popular vote for President
II House seats have a term limit of four terms, Senate two terms, Mandatory retirement of Supreme Court Justices at 20 years
III Mandatory Cursus honorum instituted
IV Curb the power of the Tribunes of the People
V Execution of all suspected Marians

[Viking]

III Mandatory Cursus honorum instituted

This would be good for Norway as well. The problem here is that half the political class of norway consists of former party youth group leaders who dropped out of uni to go to parliament.

[mongers]

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.

You know there's the other option of Thursdays. 

[Scipio]

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.

Schools closed on election days?  Maybe in Commieland, but in the Midwest, your kids go to fucking school on election day.

[MadImmortalMan]

Yeah they had the voting happening in the gym or a secluded corner of the school while classes were still going on.

[CountDeMoney]

Schools closed on election days?  Maybe in Commieland, but in the Midwest, your kids go to fucking school on election day.

Glad to see that extra day pays off with the Creationism syllabus.

[Count]

guys primaries aren't a Constitutional thing, they're a party thing. If you want to change the basic election system in the way OvB does, you'd have to have an amendment, but the other primary proposals don't implicate the Constitution as far as I can tell.

As for what I'd like: an amendment explicitly protecting the right to privacy, which some states have (including Alaska); getting rid of the electoral college (which has some benefits but is anti-democratic); and allowing for stronger restrictions on money in campaigns (I don't know specifics). I'd also like expanding the House of Representatives (either through Timmy's proposal or something else). Also at this point, given that there are apparently 5 votes on the Supreme Court for a retrograde vision of the commerce clause, it might be necessary to more explicitly state the power of Congress over the national economy.

Most things that I want to change politically are in the policy realm and thus not appropriate in a Constitution in my opinion. Amendments should focus either on structural issues, including elections and the balance between states and the federal government, or individual rights.

edit: other ideas in this thread I like: 20 year terms for the Supreme Court, nonpartisan districting.

[crazy canuck]

You need to return to your roots.  The great experiment has failed.  Become a Parliamentary democracy.

[Valmy]

You need to return to your roots.  The great experiment has failed.  Become a Parliamentary democracy.

We have no monarchy to act as a figurehead and Germany's parliamentary republic looks stupid.  Going to have to stay a presidential republic.

[Barrister]

You need to return to your roots.  The great experiment has failed.  Become a Parliamentary democracy.

We have no monarchy to act as a figurehead and Germany's parliamentary republic looks stupid.  Going to have to stay a presidential republic.

Plenty of places have a ceremonial President and a functioning parliamentary democracy.  Ireland and Israel come to mind.

[Valmy]

Plenty of places have a ceremonial President and a functioning parliamentary democracy.  Ireland and Israel come to mind.

Yes and I have already dubbed them stupid.

[Zanza]

Add "To do whatever needs to be done in a 21st century state that the founders didn't think about in the 18th century" to Article 1, Section 8.

[garbon]

Disagree, Clinton and Carter have been good Ex-Presidents