walizer.net

I have had this great idea to change how our presidential races are run. I find it very disconcerting that the primaries are done in the manner in which they are. Many Americans are disenfranchised within their political party and whose primary votes don’t count or they can’t vote for the candidate of their choice because the candidate’s campaign ran out of funds before their state’s primary elections.

We are Americans and constitutionally, are equal. However, under the current system, some appear to be more equal and some voices are louder than others.

My plan is to spread the primary elections by geographical region. Instead of Iowa and New Hampshire being so early in the “season” and the campaigners having to travel (think about the carbon footprint of all those travels) between both coasts or ignoring one state in favor of another, the schedule would be such that a cluster of states within the same geographical area would hold their primaries on the same day and the candidates could move from region to region as they campaigned.

No primaries before February and we’d be done by June. No physical appearances by the candidates for campaign/fund-raising events in any state prior to one month before that state’s primary (so they wouldn’t be spending 6 months in Iowa and 5 minutes in my state of PA later). To start in February, I’d strongly suggest having the first primaries in southern regions because of weather-related issues. 3-4 state primaries a week (Maine, VT, NH one week, then Mass, Conn & RI, then NY, NJ & PA, then MD, Del & VA, etc). They could launch their campaign/fund-raising websites the previous fall on a national level but not be allowed to personally “stump” in a state until 1 month prior to the primary in that state. We can also stipulate x number of televised debates prior to the start of the primary process.

A national budget would be established by an independent panel to ensure that serious candidates had enough funds to be on the ballot for all 50 states for the 5 month period. This panel would take into consideration average travel expenses per area (hotels, food, short-term office space rentals which can vary geographically)

They would not be allowed to spend all their funds in the first month in the first 5 states. They would be allowed to spend x amt by state, determined by voter population. A reasonable amt would be permitted for national activities like websites and nationally televised commercials. Candidates would be allowed to spend a SMALL percentage above that “entrance” limit as their fund-raising efforts allow, but again, we’re trying to level the playing field. Their campaigns wouldn’t cost as much under this new plan because their travel would be isolated to geographical zones instead of criss-crossing the country. With internet use, candidates can spread their campaign messages less expensively to a larger audience than in previous campaigns. Let’s take the “he who has the most money wins” component out of the national election process.

Of course, this new plan would tick off the countless political analysts who make their living predicting outcomes/strategies for the current candidates. However, I think, it would keep the election process saner for the rest of us. Those of us in states who have primaries in April or May would not feel “leftout” of the primary process and our primary votes would carry the same weight as those in NH and Iowa. We spend MONTHS listening to news coverage, debates, etc but by the time we have our “say”, the candidates we may have supported are no longer on the ballot. How is this fair?

The Democratic and Republican conventions would be held towards the end of July and the national-level campaigning would start in earnest on August 1st. Of course, this means no more photo-ops at every 4th of July community picnic for the candidates but it gives the rest of us a tiny break from campaign rhetoric. I would love to see our country have more than 2 viable parties (esp in Congress) but realistically, the numbers, nationwide, just aren’t there….yet.

We have our national election on the same day but I understand the need for candidates to be able to spend concentrated time and effort “on the ground” in all states to drum up support and to spread their message face-to-face with the voters.

But, I don’t have the political clout to make this idea a reality. I’m sure there are also very legitimate flaws with my thought process. I am not, nor do I pretend to be, a political scientist.

I just want to try to make all votes equal.