Election Season

 

        The primaries are over and we are now in the season I dislike the most, election season. Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for the right to vote, but I truly despise what happens between now and the first Tuesday in November. Hateful speaking will be pouring out from everywhere and since there are women running for office in Minnesota it will be even worse thanks to rampant misogyny in our culture.

        I believe there is a better way. It will be less expensive so candidates for office can't be bought  by businesses and other groups. It will give voters information on candidates so they can vote for the person they believe is best. It would also give third party candidates a chance to get their information out there equally with those of established parties.

        I think that candidates for public office should be treated like people interviewing for a job. All public offices filled by voters should have a job description on file. It has the job title, duties, expectations, supervisors, length of employment and other information. The candidate will then fill out a job application. This application would be prepared by those who are constituents. It would include information such as education, previous jobs and an essay about why the candidate would be a good choice to fill the office that they are seeking. The completed application would be available online and printed copies could be sent to those on request or just mailed to every constituent. 

        Debates which quite frankly are not informative and are just another way for candidates to badmouth each other would be discontinued. Instead each candidate would sit for a job interview. The interview would be conducted by a neutral third party that has no ties to the candidate or the office they are running for. These interviews could be televised for free and put on platforms such as YouTube for voters to view. The candidates would have to answer questions on various topics related to the office that they are seeking, what values they could bring to the job and other questions that would be helpful to voters. Question would be selected from a pool submitted by those who would be voting for the candidate. Transcriptions of the interviews would be available on request.

        Candidates would be allowed six to eight weeks to campaign and each candidate would be given an allowance to do so. All candidates would be given the same amount of money although those running for national office such a President would be given more. Candidates may not accept funds from anyone else. Personal funds may not be used. Each candidate would need to turn in account for the money they have spent to to make sure they do not accept outside funding. The campaign season could run from September to October giving a chance for candidates to make their cases personally before voters go to the polls in November. No campaigning will be allowed after the six to eight week season is over. 

         All elected offices would be decided by a majority vote. No exceptions. 

        I believe if this process was implemented, we would have a much better chance of turning elections into what they are supposed to be, citizens choosing leaders in a thoughtful way.