The Online Voting System and revitalization/distribution of democratic national power (democracy)
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First of all I believe: Voting is one of our most important rights. Every free citizen of the United States of America should be able to vote if they choose to.
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If elected I would, along with many other things, take steps to move federal elections to an online voting system set up and administered by the Federal Government- which would also help states and counties integrate their own systems to work with the Federal system.
There is no doubt we spend and have spent a lot (a lot) on our military, which - obviously includes world-class cybersecurity. There is no reason why the government can't easily implement this (or any other propositions) and my other propositions in the realm of the internet. With our smartphones these days (supercomputers in our hands, with fingerprint readers, etc.) and the like I see no reason why not to. Why stop there though?
I would like to set up an integrated online site for people to vote on all issues being passed through Congress and at the least, national-level politics such as the Supreme Court Justice nominations, the Federal Budget, the tax bracket, etc.; and with it, a new Congress.gov website as well that will allow elected officials to see in real-time what their constituencies have voted for (Democrat, Republican and Independent). I believe this real-time vote of the people should also be weighted in the passing of laws and bills - say 40% for the people, 55% for Congress, and 5% President (just an initial proposal, it could be voted upon, the proposal itself and the weighted percentages).
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The online voting system would include ballot voting as well and include it as a fail-safe; the old method in case anything ever goes wrong with the new system. Any legal and free person in the U.S. would be able to vote, especially in the primary and general elections. This would easily dispel any notion of voter fraud and not count any false or duplicate votes.
One could go on to a government website (by County) and look up your voting record easily along with other people's as well (if they did vote). There could be an option on the ballot to make your individual vote publicly visible or not with an option for public visibility on every or each vote. Easy. All done via simple database software. The government already has voting record files on each and every one of us already which we can access (see this and this for example). This would save so much money and people's time counting ballots for instance, and also resources (paper). One could also then remove themselves more easily from non-profit calling and mailing lists for example as well (should be easy to do, respect peoples privacy). If voting online, one could also change their vote up to an appointed time, say 8 p.m. EST., for the primary elections.
Wouldn't this be awesome? It is the year 2021 as of now. Things are moving and fast paced. It's not 1900 any more or even 1990 nor 2000...
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Included would be the new Congress.gov site that would be completely overhauled and revamped to allow the average person to read and understand key points of a bill. There would also be Reddit-like forums for people to talk about the bill (with upvotes and all, also a way to highlight one's thinking - no matter social and economic background and provide an avenue for them to get involved in politics), highlighting, for example, any loopholes like the infamous Halliburton loophole in the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
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I would do away with corporate interference in government as much as I could. Including ending Citizens United. I think it would be a good idea to tie this system/website into how we donate and fund politics, with only individual people being able to donate a set limit (say $1500 or so).
We, as a nation, spend billions of dollars on advertising in election years getting flooded with advertisements (T.V., radio, online). Corporations spend millions and billions in trying to influence government and government officials. Wonder why? This is not true capitalism. Imagine if every corporation and business were held to be accountable just for themselves. That, in effect, would increase competition. Imagine how good our T.V. and news media could or would be. Our products, our food, everything. That is true capitalism and competition. With corporations trying their very best to be the best they can be and to win and earn our dollars in that way, always. Imagine how good WE can be, as a country then.
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Yes, government and elected officials should still very much consider their actions (always) and the consequences of their actions (every action has a reaction and produces effects - the butterfly effect for example). In this way, powerful businesses and corporations do hold more sway and importance in considering economics, the economy, etc.; but they should not be given or be allowed to lobby for themselves more strongly than any other business or corporation (always strive for perfection and fairness, for everyone). - Set limits on lobbyists to 2 lobbyists per business/organization for example (I've read there are over 80,000 lobbyists in Washington D.C. - what if all these people we're doing work that actually produced? -> products, services, research, etc.?).
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Government and elected officials must be held accountable for their actions with transparency being very key.
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A normal, everyday educated person should be able to look at and analyze an elected official's voting record easily and be able to understand the most important key points of the bills they have voted on.
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We can look up bills and see voting records online today from websites like Govtrack.us (quite a good website) and League of Conservation Voters but it should be made better. We can call our representatives, and write letters or emails and sign petitions etc. etc. but does it even make a difference if your representative has a 0% record of voting for the environment as just an example? Is it making a difference? Will I be able to make a difference, just creating a website etc.? What is up with our politics these days? Can see other sections on the website - is whole and round in my opinion.
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Can also see the 28th Amendment page under issues in relation to this topic.
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- Written around April 2021
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Update 5/13/2021: The "For the People Act" of 2021 being pushed by progressives and the left does include measures to ensure voting rights to all people.
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