Syncopated terms

I think we should do some experimenting with our system of government. I think perhaps that we should change the terms of president and vice president and how they get elected. I think we should hold presidential elections at the same time we do the mid-term elections and VP elections when we previously did. So it works something like this: 2018 - presidential election for 2021-2024 term. 2020 - VP election for 2021-2024 term. 2022 - presidential election for 2025-2028 term. 2024 - VP election for 2025-2028 term.

Why? Well, if you're running for a new term, it gives you 2 years lead time to prepare for the actual job. Our president elect normally has about a quarter year to transition to the new administration. After your 2 years of preparation, you have 2 years of administration to accomplish your goals and win the trust of the public, if you do well enough to earn the public's trust for a 2nd term, you have more time left at that point to finish your work and transition the responsibilities to the next leader. Also, I think that during those 2 years, at the president's discretion, they may chose the president elect to be acting president for relief rather than the vice president. The only way the VP succeeds the president in an untimely death is during the first two years of a term, when the successor is not yet elected.

Having the president and vice president elections separated by two years allows people who ran for one office unsuccessfully to run for the other office - it also separates the process of running and gives the public an opportunity to vote separately and evenly. You get the most qualified candidates for both offices and you get candidates from both parties knowing who they will be working with. I believe the beneficiary of this approach will be the American public. You also can have a situation where both office-holders can run for president at the same time for the next term. I like the cooperation coupled with competition. I like the notion that you have less than a full term before you have to prove yourself to the public and the more even duty cycle of preparation and growth.

I'm not a big fan of the electoral college. In a Republic like ours, I feel it is disingenuous to give some people a weighted vote for president based on the relative lack of representation in number of house members their state produces. Not only do states with lesser populations get more per-person votes, but they also get more senate representation per voter. I have lived in 6 states (only 4 of them when old enough to vote). It seems ridiculous to me that in some states my vote counted for more than when I lived in others. I'm also of the opinion that you shouldn't disenfranchise Americans who live in our unincorporated federal territories. As someone born in one of the original 13 colonies, I feel it is my duty to bring up the "no taxation without representation" slogan out of the 1700's.

We have a peculiar, perverted, partisan, gerrymandered, rigged, corrupt, and unfair election system. It's time we re-imagined how we choose the people who steer our government in a responsible and forward-looking fashion. I'm somewhat inspired by the 6 / 2 year terms for senators and house members.