Libertarian Solutions: Election Reform

Recipe for Electoral Reform

If you want to totally overhaul the system without letting the incumbents take taxpayer money and decide who gets to campaign with how much of it, please read on...

More people on the ballot Many races in rural areas aren't even challenged! Remove onerous ballot-access requirements, remove the difference between 'recognized' parties and others.

REAL issues When you have more than the two parties in a race, you will have real issues discussed...finally!

Proportional Representation Having more districts where you elect multiple representatives (e.g., for Congress) would open up representation to minority views with enough support.

Election by a majority For races in which there is only one winner, IRV (instant runoff voting) ensures a majority vote for the winner. In this system, the voter gets a chance to vote for whom he or she really wants without worrying about throwing the race to the candidate he or she hates. When you vote, you indicate your first choice, second choice, third choice, etc.

"None of the Above" NOTA (none of the above) should be placed on all ballots. When this is on the ballot, no one will have an excuse to not vote! It's up to the local area to decide what to do if NOTA wins a majority of the votes: either the position could go unfilled/unfunded or another election could be held, where none of the original losing candidates are eligible.

No playing favorites Right now, two parties get government subsidies and preferred placement on the ballot all across the country. Big parties should be big enough to pay for their own conventions and primaries...small parties do it all the time! This year, we've seen the worst abuse ever: the government is paying a significant portion of both the Republican and Democratic parties' conventions. If these parties can't balance their own budget, is it no wonder they can't balance the national budget?

Ideas, not Money We believe that nobody should have to support parties they do not believe in. Yes, there is a problem today, we agree--our elections resemble auctions! It should be a competition between candidates to see who has the best ideas for our country. How do we fix this? Here are some ideas: Turn off your TV. Use the Internet and community radio to get information about all the candidates. Arrange all-inclusive debates at the local level. Pressure the media to cover them, even if the major candidates don't show up. Post the results yourself--websites are free to build if you can get access to the Internet. Websites shouldn't be considered campaign contributions--they are free speech! Third-parties need to work together to get these changes into our system, to make it easier for anyone to run.

More people on the ballot	Many races in rural areas aren't even challenged! Remove onerous ballot-access requirements, remove the difference between 'recognized' parties and others.
REAL issues	When you have more than the two parties in a race, you will have real issues discussed...finally!
Proportional Representation	Having more districts where you elect multiple representatives (e.g., for Congress) would open up representation to minority views with enough support.
Election by a majority	For races in which there is only one winner, IRV (instant runoff voting) ensures a majority vote for the winner. In this system, the voter gets a chance to vote for whom he or she really wants without worrying about throwing the race to the candidate he or she hates. When you vote, you indicate your first choice, second choice, third choice, etc.
"None of the Above"	NOTA (none of the above) should be placed on all ballots. When this is on the ballot, no one will have an excuse to not vote! It's up to the local area to decide what to do if NOTA wins a majority of the votes: either the position could go unfilled/unfunded or another election could be held, where none of the original losing candidates are eligible.
No playing favorites	Right now, two parties get government subsidies and preferred placement on the ballot all across the country. Big parties should be big enough to pay for their own conventions and primaries...small parties do it all the time! This year, we've seen the worst abuse ever: the government is paying a significant portion of both the Republican and Democratic parties' conventions. If these parties can't balance their own budget, is it no wonder they can't balance the national budget?
Ideas, not Money	We believe that nobody should have to support parties they do not believe in. Yes, there is a problem today, we agree--our elections resemble auctions! It should be a competition between candidates to see who has the best ideas for our country. How do we fix this? Here are some ideas: Turn off your TV. Use the Internet and community radio to get information about all the candidates. Arrange all-inclusive debates at the local level. Pressure the media to cover them, even if the major candidates don't show up. Post the results yourself--websites are free to build if you can get access to the Internet. Websites shouldn't be considered campaign contributions--they are free speech! Third-parties need to work together to get these changes into our system, to make it easier for anyone to run.