About once a year, I make a list of Constitutional amendments that I would like to see enacted, or would enact if made dictator for a day. Here they are, in outline, written in as simple language as I can manage.
Amendment I - Federal Ballot Initiative
A. Any bill, except one which would raise or create any tax, or amendment to the Constitution may be proposed on the petition of 1/5 of the state legislatures. The bill must clearly state whether it is proposing an amendment to the Constitution or a statute.
B. The bill shall then be presented to all voters in the following general election. If the bill proposes a statute, then it shall be passed if a majority of voters AND a majority of voters in more than half of the states approve it. If the bill proposes an amendment, then it must be approved by a majority of voters in each of 2/3 of the whole number of states and by a majority of those voting in the general election.
C. Any United States citizen over the age of 18, regardless of residency, shall be qualified to vote on referenda pursuant to this amendment, unless prevented by mental disability or incarceration as provided by law.
Amendment II - Election of the President and Vice President and a Federal Election Commission
A. The President shall be elected by the people of the United States directly.
B. If, after the first ballot, no candidate has received a majority of the votes cast, then, 6 weeks after the first election, a runoff election will be held between the candidates who received the two highest numbers of votes, and the person receiving the highest number will be elected. If there is a tie, it shall be decided by a joint session of the U.S. Congress, with each member having one vote.
C. The Vice President shall be elected separately in the same manner as the President.
D. The United States Senate shall appoint a Federal Election Commission, composed of nine members, including a chairman, to supervise Presidential and Vice Presidential elections, federal ballot initiatives, and other matters pertaining to federal elections as provided for by law. They shall serve terms of three years, with three members elected each year.
Amendment III - Proportional Representation in the House of Representatives
A. In each state, those parties or groups of individuals who qualify to nominate candidates for President of the United States shall also nominate a list of candidates, approved by their members, to be elected to the House of Representatives.
B. In casting ballots for President, voters shall simultaneously cast ballots for the persons nominated to the House of Representatives, whose names shall be clearly listed under each Presidential Candidate. The seats to which that state is entitled in the House of Representatives shall be filled proportional to the number of votes received by each Presidential candidate. If there are any remainders, they shall be given to the list of candidates which received the most votes.
C. If more than one list of candidates receives the highest number of votes, the remaining seats shall be given to that list which is favored by the Chief Executive of the state or by another body determined by state law.
D. Representatives shall serve terms of four years concurrent with the President, but shall not serve more than three terms.
(Just to give an example: In the 2012 elections in AR, Obama received 38% of the vote and Romney 60%. This would give the democrats one Representative in the House and the GOP 2, but since there was one remainder, it would go as a bonus to the GOP since they received the most votes, so there would be 3 GOP representatives and 1 Democratic representative. Whereas, in that same election, all four seats went Democrat, meaning that the percentage of seats won by Republicans (100%) was off by 40 Percent relative to their actual support. My proposal would reduce this to fifteen points, which is pretty good by political science standards.)
Amendment IV- Election of Supreme Court Members
A. The Supreme Court shall be composed of nine members elected by the people of the United States for terms of twelve years. No member shall serve more than three full terms.
B. In order for any person to stand as a candidate for the Supreme Court, he must be nominated by at least one-tenth of the Senate and be a licensed attorney in one of the states.
C. After this amendment is adopted, the Supreme Court shall, by lot, choose three of its members to resign their seat, which shall be filled at the next federal general election. After four years, another three shall be chosen by lot to resign their seats, which shall then be filled at the next general election, and finally, the remaining three shall resign their seats after another four years, so that every four years one-third of the Supreme Court is elected.
Amendment V - Jurisdiction of the Supreme CourtA. No federal court inferior to the Supreme Court shall hear a case which would invalidate the laws of any state or agency or municipality of a state.
B. The Supreme Court may not hear any case which would invalidate a state law without the consent of Senate.
Amendment VI - The National Guard and State Militias
A. No state militia or National Guard troops, whether established by state or federal law, may be called into the service of the United States except by the consent of both houses of Congress for a specific time and purpose, nor may they be deployed into any foreign country without the consent of the legislative power of the state from which those troops originate.
Amendment VII -Presidential Veto A. Every bill which shall have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate shall, before it becomes a law, be presented to the President of the United States; if he approves, he shall sign it, but if not, he shall return it with his objections to that House in which it shall have originated, who shall enter the objections at large on their journal and proceed to reconsider it. If after such reconsideration a majority (not two-thirds) of the whole number of members of that House shall agree to pass the bill, it shall be sent, together with the objections, to the other House, by which it shall likewise be reconsidered, and if approved by a majority of the whole numberof members of that House, it shall become a law. But in all such cases the votes of both Houses shall be determined by yeas and nays, and the names of the persons voting for and against the bill shall be entered on the journal of each House respectively.
B. If any bill shall not be returned to the President within seven days (Sundays and federal holidays excepted) after it shall have been presented to him, the same shall be a law, in like manner as if he had signed it, unless the Congress by their adjournment prevent its return, in which case it shall not become a law.
Amendment VIII - Repeal of Federal LawsA. In order to repeal any federal law, the agreement of a majority of a whole number of the members in each House of Congress shall be required, but the consent of the President shall not be required or sought.
B. No law adopted by popular referendum may be repealed or amended by federal law within five years after its adoption except the same is effected by the petition of the states and a referendum as provided for by this Constitution.
Amendment IX - Guaranteeing all rights and privileges for citizens who are 18
A. No federal or state law may deny any right or privilege to any citizen who is eighteen years of age or older without due process.
Amendment X - Election of Senators
A. Senators shall be elected for terms of eight years by the people of each state.
B. After the first general election in consequence of this amendment, in which every Senator shall stand for election, the youngest member representing each state shall vacate his seat after four years, while the other Senator shall vacate his seat after eight years, so that every four years one-half of the Senate shall be elected.
C. No Senator may stand for election more than once consecutively.
Amendment XI - Recall of the President or Vice PresidentA. If a majority of both houses of Congress, by a resolution, indicate no-confidence in the President, Vice President, or any other executive officer of the United States, he shall be resign his office, effective when a successor is chosen.
B. If the President or Vice President are removed by a vote of no confidence, then a special election shall be held three months from the date that the resolution has been passed to elect either the President or Vice President (or both) who has been removed.
C. No resolution of no-confidence shall be valid within three months of a general election, either before or after.
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