Written by Denis Smith   

On September 17, Americans will celebrate the 225th anniversary of the Constitution, an instrument that has been described as the "world's oldest national charter in continuous use." Since the adoption of the Constitution in 1787, our nation has grown from a small republic of less than four million citizens to a vibrant land of 311 million, spanning a continent and incorporating Caribbean and Pacific territories as well. Only China and India, much older civilizations, are larger in population. This growth was made possible not only by abundant territory available for settlement but also by our ability to absorb people from many lands and cultures as new and worthy citizens. The Founding Fathers, as visionary as they were, might not even recognize the diverse colossus we have become.

But the Constitution, by design, is not as elastic as our national boundaries. That is the Founders' gift to us- and our challenge - as we examine this sacred document and ensure that it is also a living instrument that can be modified to address modern times.

In spite of all this growth and attending societal change, our venerable national charter has been amended only seventeen times since the Bill of Rights was adopted shortly after the ratification of the Constitution. While we are proud of the stability and continuity our Constitution has given us, clearly the signs of stress on a federal system, designed in the eighteenth century and modified ever so slightly by those few amendments, are starting to show. True, the nation survived a bloody Civil War, abolished slavery, readmitted the secessionist states, fought tyranny abroad, became a superpower and a more just society.

But three events - all occurring quite recently- have served to expose the structural flaws of our federal system as never before. These flaws, or fault lines, make our system unstable and in need of immediate repair.

The 2000 presidential election uncovered, yet again, the first fault line, where the popular vote winner turned out to be the loser. If Bush v Gore had a salutary effect, it taught those who didn't know their history that in 1824, 1876 and 1888, the popular vote winners did not gain the White House. A second fault line weakening our constitutional system is the Citizens United decision, where the U. S. Supreme Court in 2010 equated political spending as a form of protected speech, allowing billions of dollars to flow into - and further corrupt - a system already under great strain due to the overrepresentation of special interests that seek to manipulate legislation and policy for narrow, private gain.

A third fault line is the access citizens have to the polling place and voting booth. Recent attempts by legislatures in 34 states to manipulate that access through restrictive voter ID laws and reduced early voting opportunities have produced an unintended result, where many now question what constitutes a fully qualified voter or why we vote on Tuesdays rather than over a weekend, as is the practice in many other countries.

Certainly, there are attempts underway by various groups to tweak our current system, with the National Popular Vote plan and anti-Citizens United groups among the most prominent. While some might applaud and encourage such efforts, it is clear that a more comprehensive approach, a constitutional convention, is needed to fundamentally reform our electoral processes. So please allow me, someone who is not a constitutional lawyer but a recently retired educator, an average citizen and member of no advocacy group, to suggest what could happen in a constitutional convention convened for the purpose of addressing structural changes that repair these three fault lines that weaken our national foundation.

Article V of our Constitution allows 2/3 of the states, or 34 legislatures, to approve resolutions that will provide for the establishment of such a body that is needed to repair at least three of the fault lines previously identified that currently undermine the foundations of our republic. With Congress in gridlock and unable to function in a coherent manner, it is clear that a constitutional convention is the only vehicle available to overhaul our system.

Ideally, the charge for the constitutional convention needs to be limited solely to electoral reform, which is the place to start the modernization process for our venerable Constitution. Under a limited plan, the convention can deliberate on issues deemed more important than past attempts to ban gay marriage, abortion, and flag burning, proposals that were introduced in Congress in the last decade. The language contained in such amendments should be plain and direct, with apologies offered to the memory of James Madison, our constitution's principal author, and other Founders of the republic.

In the spirit of reforming our electoral system, here are suggested draft amendments, with numbers assigned to show how each could be incorporated into an amended charter.

Amendment 28. Popular election of president and vice president. The president and vice president shall be elected by a majority of the people voting on the national election days. In the event a candidate receives a plurality, but less than 40% of the popular vote cast, a runoff election between the top two candidates shall be held within two weeks of the election.

This measure would effectively repeal the 12th Amendment, the basis for the electoral system we have today, and ensure that the winner of the popular vote is installed as president. Adoption of such an amendment would demonstrate that our country has embraced the concept of one person, one vote embedded in the landmark case of Baker v Carr in 1962. Interestingly enough, the 17th Amendment, ratified in 1913, made the U. S. Senate a more democratic institution, and the historian David McCollough has said that the direct election of senators was the most transformative event in the history of the “world’s most deliberative body.” Certainly the direct election of the president would be an even more transformative event.

Amendment 29. National Election Days. Beginning with the ratification of this amendment, national voting for president and vice president, and for such other congressional offices, shall be held every four years on the first Saturday and Sunday of November, following the first Friday, and that such days shall be deemed national holidays. Elections for the House and for certain Senate terms shall be conducted two years from such date. National voting shall be conducted in a uniform fashion, with all polls opening and closing at the same time, irrespective of time zone. All polls shall be open for 24 hours during these two National Election Days. The Congress shall establish this uniformity of election year, dates and times by appropriate legislation.

Memories of the 1980 and other elections are still vivid. Many remember the stories of thousands of Californians leaving long voting lines when television news anchors in the east called the election for Ronald Reagan, while polls in the west remained open. In 2004, while acting as a poll worker in Columbus, I witnessed more than one hundred frustrated voters leave the long lines - this in only one precinct among thousands in the state. If institutional memory is a virtue, every election needs to be significant for any American citizen, from California to the New York islands - and beyond. Limited, arbitrary voting times during a weekday do not address the needs of busy, stressed people who need access to the polls and encouragement to participate in the democratic process.

Amendment 30. Universal voter registration. The United States shall support a system of universal registration for all citizens. This system shall identify and otherwise register those citizens 16 years and older through electronic means, and such system shall have the ability to amend the place of residency for all eligible voters. The states shall support such a system of universal registration through cooperation with schools and other qualified entities in furtherance of the democratic process and to ensure that all eligible and qualified voters are properly registered and encouraged to participate in the democratic process.

Our schools were established to educate the young and prepare them for citizenship. Schools already required to teach history, government, and problems of democracy should also serve as registrars, where 16-year-olds are added to a universal registration system that serves as the engine of civic engagement. We need to fully embrace the 21st century and allow technology to store information that supports our system and expands participation in our democratic process. As an educator, I can assure you that this is one mandate that schools would embrace enthusiastically.

Amendment 31. Eligibility for office. Any person who has attained the age of 35 years and who has been a citizen of the United States for at least 18 years shall be eligible to serve as president and vice president.

This amendment will nullify Clause 5 of Article 2, which provides that only native born citizens are eligible to serve in the nation’s two highest offices. Two former governors, California's Arnold
Schwarenegger, a native of Austria, and Jennifer Granholm, who was born in Canada, would be eligible to serve as president under this provision. Other democracies don't have an issue with native born status as a qualified for holding office. Jillian Gillard, currently the prime minister of Australia, was born in the United Kingdom and has served as Australia's head of government since 2010.

Amendment 32. Eligibility to vote. No citizen of the United States shall be denied the right to vote in any federal election based upon their place of residence. The Congress shall have the power to establish this precept by appropriate legislation.
"In order to form a more perfect union,” as the preamble to our constitution proclaims, we the people need to act upon the idea that the constitution should allow any American citizen the right to vote for the leader of the republic. If you are an American citizen, where you live shouldn’t matter. And if you are a resident of Puerto Rico, Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands or other American territory, you will always be a second-class citizen until you are given the right to vote for president. Extending the right to vote for president to every American citizen will provide for a more perfect union.

Amendment 33. Federal support for elections. The treasury shall provide sufficient monies to fund candidates for every federal office, being those of president, vice president,, and member of Congress. No other monies from any other source shall be spent in the general election for any federal office. The Congress shall establish this precept by appropriate legislation.

While our electoral system has struggled with its imperfections, the Citizens United ruling caused a tidal wave of money - some apparently from outside the country - to engulf the 2010 election and imperil our democratic system. With huge multinational corporations and other groups now unfettered in their ability to influence the outcome of American elections, it is now past time to invest in and guarantee the integrity of our electoral system. We can expect the usual argument that such a provision would violate freedom of speech and limit an individual's ability to fund their own campaign, and we should be prepared for such objections. Primary elections would not be subject to this restriction as a concession to first amendment concerns. To paraphrase Lord Acton, money corrupts and an endless supply of money in our electoral system corrupts absolutely.
These six amendments are offered as a way to strengthen our federal system and promote deep constitutional thought. They could be considered one by one for debate and possible ratification. However, because of their combined impact on our system, each should be debated within the atmosphere of a constitutional convention that will seek to “form a more perfect union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility” – all principles that need to be more fully recognized in order to strengthen our republic.

Inevitably, we are back to that word. I have been careful to use the word republic rather than democracy, the more common descriptor for our system of government, for good reason. The story has been told that in 1787, at the conclusion of the constitutional convention in Philadelphia, a woman greeted the young nation’s elder statesman, Benjamin Franklin. "Mr. Franklin, what kind of government have you given us?" she asked. "A Republic, madam," Franklin quickly answered. "If you can keep it."

As a native of Philadelphia, it should be no surprise that my hometown hero is Ben Franklin, who certainly valued a republican form of government. But with our republic, we also yearn for a democratic system where the will of the majority will elect the president, where a more perfect union describes a system of governance that allows any adult American citizen the chance to become president, where a national holiday will be declared to honor the importance of a free people to determine their future, and where every adult American citizen, regardless of where they reside, will have the right to vote in a system free from the corruption of too much money injected by too many special interests exerting too much influence on politicians beholden to that money and those interests.

The only special interests at such a convention should be we, the people. We’re not there yet, but with the help of men and women of good will, let us journey once again to Philadelphia, where, in convention assembled, we will form a more perfect union, establish Justice, and insure domestic Tranquility so that our republic will also be the democracy it truly can be for all our citizens, regardless of place of birth, present identification credentials, residency, or any other human condition.

2,275 Words
Denis D. Smith is a resident of Westerville, Ohio, home of the Anti-Saloon League and the 18th Amendment to the Constitution. He spent the first year of his retirement reading about the limitations of our constitutional system and traveling to Charleston and Philadelphia to learn more about the Founders. He is a former school administrator, Fulbright Fellow and adjunct university instructor.