An interesting article on MarketWatch by Chris Edelson is making its way around the web. Edelson, assistant professor of government in American University’s School of Public Affairs, wrote about a need for radical reform to election laws in the article, “Why a new U.S. Constitution may be the only way to fix the divided state of the union“.

You may remember Edelson whose 2016 book, “Power Without Constraint: The Post 9/11 Presidency and National Security” has become well known for raising alarms that the U.S. was witnessing a “permanent shift to unconstrained presidential power” under Bush and Obama. In this latest article, Edelson lays out his proposals for a new Constitution, most of which are election reforms:

• Abolish the Electoral College; president chosen by national popular vote.
• Either eliminate the Senate or create a new system allocating senators to multi-state regions containing roughly equal populations.
• Expressly protect voting as a fundamental right that cannot be denied based on race, color, gender, or economic status.
• Protect voting rights for felons who have completed prison terms.
• Prohibit voter suppression tactics such as photo ID laws and voting roll purges.
• Establish election days as holidays.
• Set new limits on the role of money in politics.
• Prohibit the gerrymandered drawing of congressional district lines to favor one party.
• Formally establish the independence of the Department of Justice on investigative and prosecutorial matters.
• Require financial transparency and divestment of business interests for presidents.
• Supreme Court justices serve one non-renewable 18 year term; new justices approved in part by bipartisan commission of experts.

Here is a video from Feb 13, 2017 interview with Chris Edelson on the Thom Hartmann Program posted on YouTube:

Do you like the proposals? Are you also wondering why the vast majority of these proposals could not be done under the current system, without a new U.S. Constitution? Add your comment below!