Publically financed elections and instant runoff voting.

[Darkhawk28]

Time to boot all the lobbyists from Washington and all the State Houses. The only way to do it, is not through "lobbying reform", but to make lobbyist money irrelevant.

Also, a lot of people clammor for more than a 2-party system. Well, you're right, in my opinion, there's room enough for at least four (maybe more, if that's what the people decide).

Another thing, combine this with instant runoff voting and that will take the steam out of negative campaigning because candidates will not just be competing for everyone's "#1" vote, but for #2 votes as well.

Information on Public Financed Campaigns
Instant Runoff Voting Explained - Check out the Muppets Example (cute)

 

[shira]

Isn't IRV already used in Australia?

 

[OrByte]

Diebold will never let this happen so I dunno what you are all wasting your time for

 

[piasabird]

We dont need to finance the filth that comes out of politicians mouth's!

More people would run for office if they could expect more free money in the form of government handouts.

This is a free and open society not the communist party!

 

[techs]

We already HAD publicaly financed Presidential elections. However, some guy named George Bush decided he was so pro-business he could raise much more than his opponent, or at least make his opponet spend a lot of time fund raising, so Bush declined the public funding, forcing his opponent to do the same.
And even if each candidate has equal money that doesn't prevent coporations and businesses which have far more money than any interest group from spending money to support the candidate of their choice.
Even if corporations and people were barred from contributing to political campaigns you can still influence public opinion to support your candidate.
A hypothetical would be an oil company that funded an "objective study" that concluded drilling in ANWR would make America energy independent. Of course it wouldn't but publicizing the bogus study would help a candidate who supported ANWR drilling.
Sound familiar?

 

[coomar]

in canada, every vote a party receives gives it 1.50

that and restrictions on donations seem to be positivie improvements

 

[coomar]

IRV seems like a good idea, prevent the NDP/ Green/ Liberal split from resulting in a conservative victory

 

[shira]

If IRV had been in place in the U.S. in 2000, we would still be worrying about Saddam Hussein . . . thank God.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: OrByte
Diebold will never let this happen so I dunno what you are all wasting your time for

The guys making the rules who benefit from it will never let it happen since they make the rules. It a paradox not solved with anything less than revolution. We are a long way from that.