Vermont Bar Journal, Vol. 40, No. 2 Spring 2014, Vol. 40, No. 1 | Page 23
1. Public financing of our federal elections, based on candidates being
able to collect small donations from
large numbers of citizens in order to
obtain larger amounts of public financing in direct proportion to the
small donations they’ve received.
2. Independent citizen redistricting of
voting districts.
3. Full and free use of our public airways for large numbers of moderated, in depth, debates during each
election cycle.
4. Much shorter election cycles.
5. Primary candidates selected and
elected by all voters.
6. Elimination of the Electoral College,
replaced by popular vote.
7. Candidates elected by a majority,
not plurality, of all voters.
8. Uniform national standards and procedures among all states for federal
elections.
9. Full disclosure of all funding and
spending for all federal elections.
10. A constitutionally protected right to
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vote for all U.S. citizens of age, plus
perhaps a weekend voting day, plus
registration and voting procedures
to increase voter participation.
We should also recognize that encouraging more balance and competition in the
candidate selection process can be threatening to many currently serving in Congress, to their political parties, and to their
large dollar-amount campaign contributors. It’s reasonable to expect a variety of
possible resistant approaches. Some may
denigrate those requesting change, some
may acknowledge the need for change
and allege support, even to the point of
co-signing legislation that they know has
no realistic chance of passage. There may
be efforts to support some form of change
that could be deemed progress, even
though it’s not nearly adequate to bring
about comprehensive change.
Therefore, let our discussion include
ways citizens, through our state legislatures, may bring about change as set forth
under Article V of our U.S. Constitution,
should Congress resist and refuse to enact
comprehensive reform.
I’d also hope our Association would endorse a new, strong, resolution in favor of
reform and use our standing to support
broader discussion, member involvement
and participation in public gatherings and
events in support of reform.
THE VERMONT BAR JOURNAL • SPRING 2014
Efforts Toward Change
Currently Underway
Efforts to reform the way we finance and
conduct our political system are underway
through both changes in statute and by
constitutional amendment. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. An overview
of both efforts follows.
Reform by Changes in Statute
HR20 Government By the People Act
of 2014
HR20 was introduced by Rep. John Sarbanes on February 5, 2014, with support
from a wide range of advocacy groups. The
legislation has more than one hundred cosponsors, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Cal.). All are Democrats,
save one—Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina. Sarbanes and his allies argue that the
matching fund incentivizes candidates to
recruit grassroots donors who feel underrepresented in the nation’s capital. Unfortunately, the Republican House leadership
is unlikely to embrace it, and without bipartisan support, it is unlikely to make it to
the floor for a vote. However, the way the
bill approaches public financing for federal political campaigns is worth understanding. Sarbanes recently discussed the mechanics of HR20 with the Center for Public
Integrity, which placed an article about that
conversation on their website.11 The follow-
Restoring Citizen Representation
rums.
I’d hope this discussion and debate will
include, b