[EM] Conceiving a Democratic Electoral Process

[Fred Gohlke]

Good Morning, Michael

re: (as you said to Kristofer Munsterhjelm) "I think we need to
     look at the primaries.  A system of open primaries would be
     beyond the reach of the parties ..."

I think you're right, the selection of candidates for public office must 
be opened to the entire electorate.  Such an approach has eluded us so 
far because of the lack of organization among the non-partisans.  This 
lets the parties maintain their control of the electoral process with 
the classic 'Divide and Conquer' strategy.

We must note that the value of non-partisans flows directly from their 
lack of organization.  In contrast to partisans who seek to advance 
their special interests at the expense of the public, non-partisans have 
no agenda.  They just want 'good' government and, given the means, will 
do their best to achieve it.

Opening the electoral process to the entire electorate is challenging. 
We must conceive an electoral method that allows non-partisans to have 
meaningful participation in the electoral process.  When this is 
accomplished, the perspective of partisans will be submitted to the 
scrutiny and approval of those who may or may not share their views. 
Parties will revert to their proper role of persuading rather than 
controlling the people.

In the United States, non-partisans constitute a larger portion of the 
electorate than registered Democrats and Republicans combined, yet, 
because they do not submit to the major parties, they are not allowed 
meaningful participation in the selection of elected officials.  Their 
only options are to vote for one of the major party's candidates or not 
vote at all.

Although rarely noted, the situation is grave.  Based on figures from 
the Census Bureau and the Pew Research Center, the leaders of 
approximately 42.6 million partisans (18.3 million registered 
Republicans and 24.4 million registered Democrats) will determine the 
political options available to 234.5 million people, of which about 
191.9 million are not registered with a party and have no voice in the 
selection of their representatives.

That's a mockery of democracy.

Fred