Tom Mast, founder Solve American Gridlock
January 2023
PROBLEM
Congress is quite ill, dating from about 1967
Various ineffective medications have been tried
This disease has caused a long list of symptoms that are resulting in great anguish to people dependent on the patient
The symptoms include:
o Failure to solve our immigration issues
o Failure in fiscal matters including budgeting, deficit spending, timely attention
to money matters, and high percentages of overall spending on autopilot
o Failure to provide for the fiscal viability of major programs including Social
Security and Medicare
o Failure to develop a professional, comprehensive, and long-range plan for
mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, the largest project America and the
world have ever faced
o Failure to use regular order and procedures that worked well in the past
o Failure to allow fair competition from more than two parties
The dangerous condition is chronic electoral systems disease
It is time for surgical intervention
OBJECTIVE
To correct by surgery the electoral systems that have caused the major symptoms and many more. This will lead to a recovery in legislative procedures, resulting in a Congress whose existence and total focus is on solving problems for the country and its people
THE SURGERY
Clear the obstructions to having more than two effective parties. These obstructions have been systematically created by the two parties in power, many at the state level. Twenty-one other important countries have an average of 3.9 parties. They benefit from forming coalitions around each piece of legislation, enjoying more civility and a wider range of viewpoints.
o Outlaw closed party primaries
o Institute open primaries from which a fixed number of candidates advance to
the general election, perhaps five.
o Use ranked choice voting where practicable to ensure winning candidates have
a majority vote
o Return to multi-member districts, eliminating the single-member districts
created by Congress in 1967 that have made over 80% of House seats “safe”
for reelection
o Consider four-year terms for members of the House so they aren’t constantly
running for election
o After the electoral systems surgery, have rules in Congress focused on effective
and timely, legislation.
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