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‘Never’ Does Not Exist – Electoral And Political Reform
“We will never have the prosperity we had in the 90’s. The people of Michigan just have to learn to live with less.â€
–Richard Ball, debate with Mike Powers, September 2004
Note: This is the fourth in a series on revitalizing Shiawassee County
Government Transformation — Electoral And Political Reform
In order to move our county forward, we must have greater choices in our elected representatives. Too many of our local representatives are unopposed in their races. The county can participate in several initiatives to encourage more participation in public service
Promote Instant Runoff Voting – simply put, IRV is ranked voting, in which a voter can select a first choice, second choice, third choice, and so on. This allows voters the option to vote for third party candidates without the worry that their votes will be wasted on a spoiler. Many voters will vote for a major party candidate, even if that candidate is their second or third choice, because they believe that a third party or independent candidate cannot win. Communities that have adopted IRV have realized increased candidate participation and increased voter turnout.
Voting integrity – there must be no question that the winners of our elections are truly the ones who received the most votes. Verifiable paper trails, proper poll procedures, and transparency in the vote counting process are all essential.
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Reform ballot access – there are different rules for Democrats and Republicans than there are for minor parties and independents. These rules are in place primarily to ensure that our ballots are not cluttered with too many names of non-serious candidates. That is not a problem in Shiawassee, however, where we do not even have seven challengers to the county commissioners each election. Ballot access reform, when combined with IRV and the initiatives previously mentioned, will increase citizen participation in our government.
Educate the citizens about public service – many citizens who are concerned about local issues have never considered the possibility that they might be good elected representatives. Others have considered it but do not know how to get on the ballot or run a campaign. Most have no idea what the responsibilities of each office are. While our elected leaders may not wish to encourage their own competition, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that our residents know how to participate in our democracy. The county needs to share information regarding how to run for office, how elections work, and our rights as voters. Job descriptions and compensation of each office must be easy to find and understand.
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Call for an end to intimidation and frivolous recalls – while most of our unopposed elections are due to a lack of awareness and low citizen activity, it is an unfortunate fact that some potential candidates have been deterred by threats and intimidation. Although this activity is already illegal, the county government can fill a void in Shiawassee by respectfully calling for an environment of positive politics, and demonstrating zero tolerance for bullying and backroom deals. Furthermore, our county has suffered at least five recall attempts against local leaders in the past three years. This causes anxiety among our citizenry, creates doubt in our political process, and destabilizes our economy by creating a negative perception of Shiawassee. The recall process was never meant to be the only method for conflict resolution, or a means by which to promote special interests. Our county should encourage and educate our citizens in positive government participation.
Next Time: Community Support
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