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Health & Fitness

Presidential Primaries - Is a change needed?

Primaries - are you really voting for the best candidate? Or have they already been elimiated?

 

OK, so once again, we are going to let Iowa and New Hampshire decide who’s going to run for president. Is it because these people are smarter than we are? Or more politically savvy? 

No, it’s because they managed to be selected to have their caucus/primary before anyone else. And both the Republican and the Democratic National Committees like it that way.

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I am of the mind that they sometimes choose incorrectly, and we end up voting in November for the person who annoys us the least. Or the candidate we’ve decided would do the least harm.

Is this the way to elect a president? My idea is for those who think they should be
the president, to declare their candidacy in February. This is usually a slow month, the holidays are over, most of the nation is staying indoors due to the weather and we have time to check them all out. 

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Each candidate would be given one hour – no commercials – on network TV during the month of March, to tell the people what they believe, and what they plan to do if elected.  In April they would each be given one half hour for clarification, after listening to the others speak. Candidates would not be allowed to bad mouth each other, and would run entirely on their own merits.

During the following months of March, April and May, the candidates can work to get out the vote. During these 90 days, they will visit each state, addressing the needs of that state.   

June would be primary month. Every state votes on the same day. Unaffiliated voters are not allowed to vote in the Republican or Democratic primary. 

If there are independent candidates, there will be a “separate” primary for them, where the unaffiliated voters can vote.

NO television coverage will be allowed until voting is COMPLETED, in Hawaii, and all votes are counted. Until the Secretary Of State of each state has certified the votes, NO numbers would be given out. 

The winners for each party would have their names on the ballot for president, and the 2nd place candidates will run for Vice-President. What state they are
from, and how many votes they can bring in would no longer be an issue.

The candidates from both major parties, and any minor parties, would be allowed to campaign for office during the months of July, August, September and October, with the elections in November as usual.

Television advertisements in both the primary and the regular election would be limited to one per hour per candidate per channel. This would eliminate the need for large contributions from giant corporations of PAC’s and those running for office would not be beholden to “Big Money”.

For the November election, the same TV coverage would be enforced. 

No longer would we have the big news networks jumping the gun and telling us who won, based on 1 percent of the voting counted in one of the biggerstates.

Is it time for election reform?  This voter says YES!

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