Elections Editorial

Recently reading over the constitution I saw a few things about the
presidental elections that would be interesting to see implemented in
a different way. There are three main points that would make for a
different process and possibly a better experience for everyone
involved. These points involve the idea of a presidental/vp "ticket",
the party system as it relates to intial nominations, and the
administration of the electoral college.

Looking at the original Article II of the constitution gives us the
standard for the election of a president and the vice president, and
the XII ammendement gives us an extended idea of how they can relate
to each other. The president and vice president are elected
seperately, yet we most likely weren't given the option of
distinguishing the two yesterday at the polls. The seperation of these
two races though not essentail could create a different dynamic to
free us from a strictly partisan outcome. How would it be if we could
have a bipartsan presidental/vp outcome, bad or good, I don't claim to
know, but it would be different and maybe something we could benefit
from.

Also of note in the constitution is the mentioning of voting
restricted to a president and vp from different states than the one in
which the electors reside that brings to my mind a more broad view of
political ideals. Rather than a two party system with the other
outlying parties we could have a system based more around state vision
and unity. Each state could potentially back their candidate(s) into a
process of weeding out who would be better. Perhaps not a better way
of doing things, but an area with room for thought.

Finally the electoral college seems to be executed in a manner that is
not solely based on the constitution, but by long held traditions.
Wouldn't it be a very different experience if in the state of Utah we
"appointed" 5 people to vote in the electoral college rather than
doing a popular vote and automatically giving the party of the
favoures candidate the electors that favor it. Some also argue the
electoral college is obsolete because of mass communication, perhaps
it is still needed because of miscommunication. The selecting of
electors could also create a more personal level election I could see
the potential of actually knowing/ meeting the person I am "voting"
for and they could get to know, meet with, and investigate the people
they would be voting for. Couldn't we benefit from more direct
communication?

There has been extensive talk about change maybe it is time that we
tried some other sorts if change.

Super Guy
(on the move)