Your Vote Is Not Equal to Mine
Yeah, I said it
Did I get your attention, anger you, did you get a visceral feeling of hate for me? Am I now detestable to you?
All understandable.
Who am I to say such things? How dare I consider that maybe one Vote should not equal another?
One Person, One Vote, Right?
Here is the thing; not everyone’s vote should be equal.
Oops, I said it again.
However, it doesn’t escape me, as we near another pinnacle election on Nov 8th, that many reading this could have a claim to a stronger vote than even myself.
Accepting this premise is the whole purpose of the thought experiment to follow. It is potentially controversial and disruptive and could save our Democracy.
Bold statement; I know
If you haven't noticed, Americans are leaning toward a form of fascism where one party makes all the rules. They may be confused about what fascism is, but that isn't stopping the trend. Even I have caught myself thinking America would be better if only the Democrats were in charge of it all - it wouldn't be.
Many of you reading this should have a stronger claim in your vote!
One person, many votes, is a new way forward.
In my proposal, how many votes a person could claim and cast on election day would depend on a menagerie of civic actions that a person had accomplished and earned (see list below).
A critical aspect of my proposal is that a person’s bank balance, gender, and race would not be part of the consideration. Those three realities should not bear any weight in acquiring more voting power. Our politicians have weaponized those realities, and, to a large extent, they have used them to divide us.
In summary: Engaged citizens who show up and do the work, blue-collar & white-collar, academics, altruistic types, and patriots of the Constitution would earn more votes they could cast on election day.
That is the premise of this writing. Are you in? Then let’s play!
Here are some accumulated merits I have considered worthy for a person to claim more votes.
- As a birthright, every American starts with two votes.
- Taking a pledge for democracy gets you one additional vote.
- Naturalized citizens in good standing get one vote.
- Legal residents in good standing who pay their taxes get one additional vote; citizens, naturalized, and legal immigrants.
- Ineligible citizens who are underage and volunteer or support election poll workers get an additional vote when legal.
- Any adolescent earning a 3.5 GPA or above gets one additional vote when legal to vote.
- Volunteer election workers get one additional vote.
- Americans that take and pass a course on constitutional law get one additional vote.
- Americans that pass a course on democracy get two additional votes.
- Americans who pass a course on civil rights get two additional votes.
- Those who participate in a jury get one extra vote
- Military get one extra vote.
- A military soldier that sees combat gets another additional vote. Purple heart recipients get one more additional Vote.
- Family members of the military who lose someone in war get five additional votes.
- Intelligence officers get an additional vote; distinguished IOs get three additional votes.
- First responders get one additional vote, as well as their spouses and children.
- Americans that achieve a vocational degree, certificate, or A.S. get one additional vote.
- Americans with a bachelor's degree get one additional vote
- Americans with a master's degree get one additional vote
- Americans with a Ph.D. get two additional votes.
- Property taxpayers get one additional vote, capped at one vote, no matter how many properties they own.
- Non-violent rehabilitated inmates would get one vote back.
- One hundred hours of community service would get you one additional vote if voluntary and not court-ordered.
- Two hundred hours gets you one more additional vote, same conditions,
- 10 hours a month volunteering for a non-profit gets you one extra Vote
- Those who pass a course on how to spot Fake News get an additional 100 votes (just kidding, or am I?).
- Retired Americans who volunteer their time and expertise get one vote.
- Add your merits in the comments, and I will add them!
I know what you are thinking-
That is impossible it will never happen. How would you monitor or track such a merit system? — The voice in my head
You might think it is impossible to accomplish this, but I would argue it can be done bipartisanly. Where we are today, we all feel our beautiful democracy is at risk, that much we all can agree on. We can discuss why ad nauseam, but I submit that our pursuit of existential privilege has much to do with it.
We have lost sight of our democracy, at least the big picture of it, and why? So we can live our best individual selves? That is fine in the micro view, but this arrogance has cost us the macro picture. The social contract many have paid for with their blood has all but been forgotten.
For those unfamiliar with the term “Social Contract,” it has its roots in philosophy and originated with Socrates; simply, it means laws we all agree to so we can form a society implicit and implied. Patriots have died to keep our society intact.
In the past, even with our differences, we participated in the social contract. That is what I think many of us miss. Somehow demigods have once more distracted the masses from reality like they have done so many times in history.
The social contract is implied because, deep down, we know democracy cannot survive on pure capitalism and free markets. It is impossible. Without some guidelines on how we organize resources for distribution, we would quickly devolve into “survival of the most weaponized,” hence why we need a social contract.
We know there are no real free markets; all are subsidized on some level.
Is our democracy perfect? of course not, but it is the closest humans have come to a society of free will. Anyone in disagreement with this fact should read a book or two.
We have become complacent, jaded, and inactive in our democracy. A change like the one I propose in our voting system may excite “the people” to once again get involved in their civic responsibility.
Thought experiment and nothing more
Many among us are searching for a path forward, a compromise, and are ready to begin healing. I am tired of being angry with family members who don’t think like me, and I am tired of wondering if my neighbors are “of that party.”
But still …
The hard right is not making it easy for those on the “blue” side. The “reds” marching with swastikas and using the confederate flag as a symbol of hate saddens and infuriates the “blues,” as intended.
Their messages are dangerous, their rhetoric unsettling.
“I do not agree with the kind of America you want; I am the kind of person that wants separation from all of you Democrats, and I want privilege over you.” -the MAGA movement
It must be addressed why there is so much hate for fellow Americans on both sides. Setting aside the subset of truly racist humans, something more profound is happening. A good argument could be made many have been left behind in our form of capitalism, blue and red. They have lost hope in capitalism, or at least the malignant crony shareholder capitalism, which has become our system. They are ready to say good riddance to a system they once championed.
Corporations have sold us out, and enemy states are playing the long game with us. They are winning.
The problem is many Americans confuse democracy and capitalism, they see them as joined at the hip, but that is a warped view. It is a failure of all of us that we have let capitalism destroy many Americans on the march to shareholder wealth for the few.
Apart from the hardened racists and radical fringe left, I believe there lies an opportunity, a common ground, to heal the divide. A merit-based voting system could be that common ground for how America moves forward.
How did I get here
If you look, you can find vital Republican projects engaged in repairing their narrative. These Republican patriots are not giving up their conservative views; they want America to remain a democracy and will go as far as to vote blue when needed. I wonder, would you, as a blue do the same thing, vote red when needed?
I want Blue & Red leaders to support our constitution as it is today, including the struggles and wins of the last four hundred years. I want political leaders who are first Constitutional Americans and second—party affiliated. Be a Constitutional American first and a Red, Blue, or Magenta second. That is how we heal.
What is the real issue at heart?
The truth is that the media won't tell you that 80% of us fall into the Overton Window.
The media continues to amplify our division because humans are addicted to sensational content, and they make heaps of money in that chaos.
Political operators continue to fuel the divide on both sides because they see the power in our division. There is power in our division; that is the truth. They fear a truly United America.
Our true patriotic duty is to work towards a “sensible” compromise in our challenges as Americans.
Once compromise is over, all that is left is war —pp. BBP
I would argue that America is weaker today than it has ever been due to the divisive rhetoric and propaganda being thrown and consumed by us. They know how to control us, and it is working.
“They” is defined as the power base. “They” are scurrying and jockeying around to control the final resources.
Americans feel powerless on both sides. We are all looking for some person in politics to lead us. I think that ship has sailed and we had better take more control of our democracy, but how? I have always believed the people’s power is limited to the vote. I think it is time to amplify the hundred million engaged voters and let the apathetic live the simply unengaged lives they choose. Let those who show up decide our future.
What do we know?
Each political party and the media have failed in their purpose, which is perfectly clear to both sides of the political divide.
Getting on with it
I woke last night with a disruptive thought; Why is any person's vote automatically equal to the next person's vote?
What if it was merit-based?
“One Person, One Vote” is not written into the Constitution. The history behind the slogan is wonderful, but it is not constitutional. Remember, our Constitution didn't allow women or “men of color” to vote until forces disrupted those horrid realities of our society. We changed the Constitution for the better.
We can do it again, and I have a gut belief that all sane constitutional Americans (Democrats, Republicans, and every shade of Independent) who love this country and want democracy to stand tall would agree we need a change in how votes are counted.
Divided we fall
I hope we can deflect our path and not fulfill the dream of Putin and his American insurgent puppets, Civil War part 2. This write-up is a thought experiment that could provide one iteration of a solution. I would be honored to hear your response to it.
