As we all know gerrymandering is a huge problem in states that have a majority of one of the two political parties. They use their authority to create unfair maps so their party can get an unfair advantage of the House, and also cheats the population of these states from fair and equal representation. Perhaps in the past this would not be terribly crucial, but in 2022 with the massive division politically and culturally it is more important that voters be represented and not be trapped by a legislature that controls their ability to attain and maintain power.
I thought about how do states make fair districts and it just seems an impossible task in the sense that how do you draw a map with such a variety of interests. I was struck by the unfairness of Florida that has a near 50/50 democrat to republican divide among voters, but with the new DeSantis map the republicans can attain 20 of the 27 House seats. As we can see representatives seldom really represent only their constituents. Many bills are decided based on party loyalty and the effects apply to the majority of the USA, not just a district.
So this is my proposal:
All political parties that operate in each state present their policy platform. They list out their priorities and their intentions as an agreed upon plan for the state and the nation. Voters of the state vote on which platform they agree with the most. The percentage of what each political party gets sets the ratio of representatives. So if republicans get 53% and democrats get 43% and independents get 4%, the number of representatives is set based on this. So in Florida the Democrats would get 12 representatives, Republicans would get 14 representatives, and there would be 1 Independent representative.
As for the representatives, each party will run enough representatives to fill the quota as a minimum. Each candidate can explain their own positions, both on the party platform, including differences. Then depending on how a citizen voted on the platforms they rank each candidate based on their favorite. So the most favored candidate is assigned 1, and on down. The accumulation of votes according to ranking is how the representatives are selected. So if 20 candidates run for 14 positions only the top 14 are selected.
I would also propose that voting rights be enacted, and that voter registrations do not expire. Using the DMV and license/ID as a verification is an efficient and secure way to maintain election reliability. Federal standards for mail in voting would help the problems states like Texas has had with confusion and discarded votes due to poorly designed ballots and instructions.
Thoughts and criticisms?
I thought about how do states make fair districts and it just seems an impossible task in the sense that how do you draw a map with such a variety of interests. I was struck by the unfairness of Florida that has a near 50/50 democrat to republican divide among voters, but with the new DeSantis map the republicans can attain 20 of the 27 House seats. As we can see representatives seldom really represent only their constituents. Many bills are decided based on party loyalty and the effects apply to the majority of the USA, not just a district.
So this is my proposal:
All political parties that operate in each state present their policy platform. They list out their priorities and their intentions as an agreed upon plan for the state and the nation. Voters of the state vote on which platform they agree with the most. The percentage of what each political party gets sets the ratio of representatives. So if republicans get 53% and democrats get 43% and independents get 4%, the number of representatives is set based on this. So in Florida the Democrats would get 12 representatives, Republicans would get 14 representatives, and there would be 1 Independent representative.
As for the representatives, each party will run enough representatives to fill the quota as a minimum. Each candidate can explain their own positions, both on the party platform, including differences. Then depending on how a citizen voted on the platforms they rank each candidate based on their favorite. So the most favored candidate is assigned 1, and on down. The accumulation of votes according to ranking is how the representatives are selected. So if 20 candidates run for 14 positions only the top 14 are selected.
I would also propose that voting rights be enacted, and that voter registrations do not expire. Using the DMV and license/ID as a verification is an efficient and secure way to maintain election reliability. Federal standards for mail in voting would help the problems states like Texas has had with confusion and discarded votes due to poorly designed ballots and instructions.
Thoughts and criticisms?