It's Time For A More Direct Democratic System In America

[Saint Furrybutt]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gqUBiP11FQ

[Mighty AU]

It’s time for a more direct democratic system? According to whom? Yet another aspiring, biased YouTube personality / talk show host? Don’t get me wrong, democracy can be much better in America. But this trend of people in entertainment becoming thought leaders in politics is highly disturbing and is arguably one of the biggest threats to functional democracy.

As for the actual content though, I really don’t believe that direct ballot initiatives are the way to go. It would be such a monumental reform for federal politics in America, when that effort could be better spent pushing to resolve existing issues eg having elections on weekends rather than weekdays, improved voter enrolment processes etc.

I do agree with the bloke that more can be done to empower the average voter. But even just 5 direct ballot initiatives every 2 years places a huge burden on voters, and I don’t believe that many voters would be sufficiently informed on the choices by the time it comes to vote. Then there’s also the issue that you would have these direct ballot initiatives being taken to elections where the turnout is often less than 50%, especially the midterms. I also imagine that it could really upset the legislative process, as bills which could pass Congress and the White House may instead be locked up in being considered to be a ballot initiative; it could take 2 years for the bill to be actioned.

A better alternative to having some legislation being reviewed by all voters on a part-time basis, would be to have all legislation reviewed by some voters on a full-time basis. And what I mean by that would be reforming the House or Senate to be appointed by sortition.