Monday, March 28, 2022
Needed Changes in the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution-Part Six By Harsha Sankar
Needed Changes in the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution-Part Five By Harsha Sankar
Needed Changes in the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution-Part Four By Harsha Sankar
Needed Changes in the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution-Part Three By Harsha Sankar
Needed Changes in the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution-Part Three
When the US Constitution was written, states were ceded much more independent authority than they currently have now. The state legislatures chose senators until the 17th Amendment was passed in 1913.
The manner in which the President was chosen if the electors were not able to decide the choice for this position should have been changed at that time as well. Currently the US Constitution states that if the majority of electors are unable to choose the President, the House of Representatives must choose the President instead. This federal lower house would not choose the President by simple majority balloting. Rather the votes of all Representatives shall be taken per state. Each state shall have one vote.
Because the Federal Government is now the sovereign governmental authority, this current practice described in the previous paragraph must change. Because Area-Based chosen federal senators are closer to the people after 1913, the majority of the federal upper house legislative body must decide the Presidential election if the Presidential electors fail to do so.
Those who apply, support, and enforce the law should be selected. Those who make the law should be elected. If federal senators are to contest for office via election, it would be appropriate for that federal body to select the President in case the electors failed to do so. It was never appropriate for the U.S. Senate to do so prior to 1913 since they were selected by the state legislatures.
While it is true that the House of Representatives is closer to the People than the US Senate is as they should be, the fact they would be voting with each of their state receiving one vote does not demonstrate much legitimacy. After all states are no longer sovereign republics which once were quasi-independent. States are rather franchises of the federal government. So why would each state, based on how its members in the House of Representatives voted, cast its sole vote for the President when it has no independence?
Due to the fact the President is much more involved in administration and much less in lawmaking, the President must be chosen based on an Area Based Democratic Model. That means the US Senate should do the choosing if the electors are not able to do so. The US Senate is less directly connected to the People so they would need to make this choice.
Needed Changes in the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution-Part Two By Harsha Sankar
Since the US Constitution shifted sovereignty from the states to the federal government, the positions of President and Vice-President gained unprecedented authority. The Founding Fathers did not intend both these positions to be as powerful as the 14th Amendment made it to be. However the Lincolnites who won the Civil War had other ideas. They wanted a strong central government as nationalism was sweeping across the Western World.
Correctly or incorrectly, America has become a "Top-Down Society". People focus daily on the activities of the President. Due to this, the President and Vice-President should not run on the same ticket. They should be selected by a different set of electors and their electors should be chosen in a different manner. Otherwise too much centralization of authority will be placed on one ticket if the President and Vice-President run together.
Needed Changes in the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution-Part One By Harsha Sankar
Needed Changes in the 12th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution-Part One By Harsha Sankar
The US Constitution is not a perfect document. It is in need of minor changes. The 12th Amendment for example needs to be changed.
The fundamental reason for the change is simple. When the US Constitution was written, the States were sovereign Republics. After the 14th Amendment was passed in the aftermath of the Civil War, the States and their governments were converted into franchises of the USA and the federal government. The united States of America became the United States of America as people became federal citizens.