Election Reform

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the founding fathers, who wrote the Constitution, were extreme elitists, who gave (1) suffrage to all white men with property and (2) the power to elect the highest executive office, not to the people, but to the Electoral College or the House of Representatives. The author points out that, although the Constitution has been amended to permit people of color, women, 18 year-olds and residents of the District of Columbia to vote in both local and national elections; the U.S. Congress, unlike most other countries, still retains (1) the voting day as "the first Tuesday in November" instead of a weekend day and (2) indirect election of the President through the Electoral College. The paper relates that the bipartisan bill, HR 57, would establish a nonpartisan 12-member commission to examine the advisability and feasibility of proportional voting systems, instant runoff voting, voting system technology and and other issues such as the Electoral College and voter registration options including same-day registration and universal registration.

Table of Contents
Why Do We Need Continuous Reform of the Election Process?
A Short History of Amendments to the Voting Process as Defined by the U.S. Constitution
Article XXIV
Section 1
Section 2
Article XXIII
Section 1
Article XXVI
Section 1
If, How and Why Should We Now Amend the Constitution in Response to the Election of 2000?
Conclusion: Can We Afford a Disenchanted Voting Majority?

From the Paper:

"Once African Americans were allowed to register to vote without paying a poll tax, local electors used strong-armed tactics by lawful and unlawful groups such as the local sheriff and the Klu Klux Klan, to dissuade any civic-minded individuals of color. Those people of color who were willing to face physical and financial coercion were further subjected to stringent intellectual requirements as a prerequisite to registering to vote. The black population had to quote chapter and verse of the State and U.S. Constitution and analyze it in order to qualify to vote. Men belonging to the white population in the South only had to prove they could read at the second grade level and write their names. Given that those in power were the ones to create electoral divisions in the various states, those in power artificially created voting blocks that were favorable to their own ends, not to that of the people. We still face that problem today."

More papers on Election Reform:

• Essay # 1478 : "1992 Election Reforms in Israel"
• Essay # 143486 : "Impacting State And Local Elections"
• Argumentative Essay # 102429 : "Current Senate Reform Proposals"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: