As today is the next “super Tuesday”, I have some comments on the whole voting process.

I think the American voting system is due for a revamp. The whole process is so long and inefficient.

First, we saw that the presidency can be won without winning the popular vote. That is so damn wrong. Secondly, the way delegates are won differs from state to state. Some states grant partial delegate count, while some go for all-or-nothing. I don’t see the need for delegates anyway, just another level of proxy we can do without.  Then the democrats have these “super-delegates” who vote freely which means their votes don’t necessarily align with the voting public. Plus since they are professional politicians, they can be influenced by special interest groups.

And some super delegates reportedly to be “rethinking” their votes. What? Furthermore some states like Michigan had their delegates wiped out as a penalty for moving their voting dates. Insane! I’d like to see it, along with our tax system, revamped and simplified. At least make it more direct and uniform so a simple man like me can understand.

To promote voting, why not make it more of a direct civic duty and tie it to a tax levy? If you don’t vote, you’re levied with a small tax, say $100. Think about it, most regular joe’s will vote to avoid paying the tax. The rich folks can afford the tax, but they probably already have the motivation to vote for their candidates anyhow. I’ll bet that gets a lot of ballots on a regular basis. 😉

Update: like most other taxes, the levy would work out better as percentage. Something like 0.5% with minimum of $100. Yeah, I think that’ll do…