The choosing of state officials in Representative Democratic Mode:Attorney General-By Harsha Sankar

Dear Citizen,                                          October 2020

Of the departments of the state's executive branch which should not be chosen by the governor or state legislature, the state attorney general's office is that department which has the most authority. That office prosecutes all state and local government officials, employees, and contractors who have been indicted of a crime. All indictments should come from the state police of that particular state.

A candidate for Attorney General should not be a participant in any branch of government for at least one year prior to the election. That candidate should also neither belong to any organization that is not publicly announced nor should its contents of its meetings be sealed in secrecy for at least two years prior to the election. Finally, that candidate should not belong to any group comprised solely of any government branch participants.

The governor should accept all the applicants eligible for this position, limit the number of candidates for this position to ten, and then submit these choices of candidates to the State Senate. The reason the State Senate is the body to review these choices is because they deal with matters which are both non-financial and affect the entire state.

The State Senate limits the number of candidates to five and then submits that list to the government body of each locality. The local government elected officeholders decide their choice of candidate and submits its  choice to the Governor. The candidate who receives the majority of local governmental approval, based on each local government's choice, is declared the Attorney General.

If a candidate cannot get the majority of local governments to choose him or her, then the Top Three candidates in the local government's selection are voted on, with a quorum of two-thirds, by the lower house of the state legislature. It is important to involve this specific house at this stage since they have not had previous involvement. The candidate who receives the majority of votes from its members is declared the attorney general.

If a candidate still cannot get a majority of the lower house votes, then the Top Two candidates who received the highest number of lower house votes are voted on by the State Senate. The State Senate at this stage will be involved again in the selection of the attorney general as the majority of its members, with a quorum of two-thirds, makes final decision.

                                                            Harsha Sankar
                                                            Virginia, USA