Letter to the Editor: Ideas to Improve Elections and More

Today the president sat at his desk and tried to convince us that we have the greatest democracy in the world. There was a time when I believed that. Today I am not so sure.

The information we receive is dominated by huge sums of money pumped into campaigns by big money and people in positions of power (as a result of “Citizens United”).

We hold elections which are frequently manipulated to make it difficult for some to vote and the will of the voters is ignored as the Electoral College decides the outcome.

Rules in the House and Senate give one person in each group the power to not bring anything up for discussion or a vote which they do not choose to allow, making them dictators of what does or does not receive attention at the federal government level.

My suggested solutions are:

1. Eliminate Citizens United.

2. Eliminate the Electoral College. Just count the votes.

3. Hold presidential elections on two consecutive days including a holiday or weekend day and don’t publish any of the results until all have voted and all the poles are closed.

4. Change the rules of the House and Senate to provide for discussion and votes on any and all proposals that the majority of House and Senate members vote to have addressed.

Donald L. Howard

Sister Bay, Wisconsin