Last Tuesday was Election Day in America. This is a presidential year, so it got more attention. Like many of my fellow constituents, I’m exhausted. Now that it is over, we can discuss the larger problem. The current system and ballot does not give enough choices. As a result, Americans are stuck with candidates they do not like.
Donald Trump secured the Republican Party nomination through vigorous support from his base. The collection of uncharismatic challengers had no chance in defeating the former president in the primary. Any practical alternates to MAGA nation, if they exist, skipped this losing contest. It was better to wait for the 2028 race, and the election results affirmed this.
Democrats did not want the sitting president to run for re-election and the big players waited too long to speak out publicly. It took celebrities calling for his withdrawal and major donors pulling their funding for Joe Biden to drop out of the race. Without skipping a beat, he endorsed the vice president as the party nominee.
Party leadership decided, undemocratically, to nominate Kamala Harris. It was puzzling choice since Democrats overwhelmingly rejected her in the 2020 primary. She received zero delegates and peaked with “15 percent voter support.” The media, nonetheless, glossed over this fact and celebrated her ascent. Political commentator Bill Maher, although endorsing Harris, did not fawn over her. He concluded his pre-election Real Time editorial saying she has offered voters no reason to pick her besides “I’m not Trump.” Clearly, it was not a winning strategy this time around.
How do we avoid getting stuck in this situation again?
Constitutional Amendments could resolve some of these issues and more.
The Founding Fathers placed an age minimum of 33 to serve in the highest office. They did this because the job of commander in chief requires maturity and life experience. The Framers did not put an age maximum, probably because of life expectancy. Legislating a ceiling is, however, necessary and not ageism.
Americans are tired of elected officials, in both parties, too proud to step down and admit when it is time to pass the torch. Strom Thurmond and Diane Feinstein are just two examples of Senators who died in office. John Thune just replaced Mitch McConnell as Senate Majority Leader, but will the 82-year-old retire or run again in 2026? Bernie Sanders is five months older, and Charles E. Grassley is now 91.
Supreme Court justices are not directly elected and too often serve until they die. Ergo Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The justices should also have an age limit and term limits. A binding ethics code comparable to the one required by federal judges is also overdue.
And it should go without saying, it is time to abolish the Electoral College and institute the popular vote for the presidency. It is not truly democratic when a handful of states decide the next four years. Candidates only have to campaign in swing states. This election shows that the argument claiming the popular vote favors Democrats is not a certainty. There are likely more Americans than experts and pundits want to imagine that vote across party lines.
Another solution is to nationalize “None of these candidates” for all races. Since 1975, Nevada provided its constituents the ballot freedom to reject the available choices. The federal government should adopt the statute and expand its reach to redo all contests if the party-less option wins. This may open the door to a viable third party or at least provide voters with the ability to voice their opposition to the mainly binary choice. Having the media display the number of dissatisfied citizens is more powerful than just skipping a contest on the ballot. There is then no question of a person forgetting to cast their vote. It is not just undecided voters who are frustrated. None of these candidates is a better option than a protest vote or not participating. This could perhaps increase voter turnout, which dipped this year.
Congress has its own version of an opposition vote called present. Lauren Boebert and Matt Gaetz memorably used it to temporarily deny Kevin McCarthy the title of Speaker of the House back in January 2023. The Freedom Caucus eventually ousted him in October for reaching across the aisle to avert another government shutdown.
The biggest issue is possibly the lack of term limits for Congress. Members of the House serve two-year terms and are constantly running for re-election. Senators serve for six years and rarely turnover. Once elected, most officials have a job for life, too often literally. And they want to stay in office because seniority bequeaths influence. Members of Congress have no incentive to work for the good of the people given the tribalism of modern political life. Partisanship trumps cooperation in the current political moment. This is one reason for Washington gridlock.
Unfortunately, the legislative branch will not relinquish its power without a constitutional convention by the states.
Lastly, the Constitution must be amended to recognize DC as a state with voting representation in Congress: two US Senators and one Representative in the House. The current system disenfranchises black Americans who live and work in the nation’s capital. Last Week Tonight host John Oliver showed in 2015 that it will not be difficult to change the stars on the flag.
Instead of debates over party, it is time to focus on what is best for the country. And that is constitutional reform to fashion a system that works for all Americans.
Andrew Fogel is a historian of popular culture whose research and writing explores the place of superheroes in the everyday world and the power they hold over the imagination for both kids and adults. He completed his PhD at Purdue University.