Dirty Boots: The Grandma in the Louisiana KFC, continued
Read “The Grandma in the Louisiana KFC” first.
. . . and if it were me, trying to push our democracy forward to a better place, I’d consider trying at least some of the following ideas.
First, Democrats in the South could take the lead on either abolishing the electoral college or having every state use a split-vote method like Nebraska and Maine. If that all-or-nothing aspect of our presidential elections were eliminated, every candidate would have to campaign in every state, because every community’s votes would matter. Campaign money would be spread thinner and more evenly, and third parties would shine through in areas where they’re strong, which would open doors for platforms to change. This reform could also effectively un-nullify millions of Southern voters who aren’t supporting Republican presidential candidates. Perhaps most importantly, it could diminish the “why bother?” rationale for not voting. In presidential races, the effects in Texas and Florida alone would be substantial. I believe that there would also be a down-ballot effect that could influence state-level politics. In the South, that could mean a sea change in our political landscape.
Second, Southerners could support election reform that includes ranked-choice voting for as many state and local elections as possible. This would untangle the diverse electorate and allow people’s preferences to show through in a way that a binary choice does not. It might not be feasible in a presidential election, but expanding choice could alter the face of state and local politics in the region. Which could then yield a change in our presidential and statewide office picks.
Third, Alabama (and, in the South, also Kentucky and South Carolina) should end straight-ticket voting. This practice makes it too convenient to reduce one’s political ideals to a single word: Republican or Democrat. If someone still wants to fill in every bubble for every candidate in one party, they still can. For the committed single-party voter, it will change voting from a two-second process to maybe a two-minute process. But it would force voters to look at the names in every race, to at least consider each one as an individual choice. That’s good for democracy.
Fourth, all Southern states should improve their twelfth-grade Government and Economics courses, and should create free Citizenship Schools that offer adult education. About this first idea, the two high school courses have a resoundingly positive answer to the age-old question: How’m I gonna use this in real life? And since many Southerners of all ages could use some serious education in how our government works and in how our economy works, ongoing community-level workshops and seminars that are available to the general public are warranted. This could include including ready-made on-site programming, like canned thirty-minute talks for civic groups’ lunchtime meetings. During the Civil Rights movement, Citizenship Schools are how activist groups like SNCC mobilized voters, and it could work again.
Finally, the South’s Democrats and third parties should try to field vetted candidates in every race possible. Let no office go unchallenged. Give people a choice. Even unfunded, unknown candidates who lose badly will gain something by running: experience and name recognition. In VO Key’s classic Southern Politics: In State and Nation, he acknowledged that, in the South, candidates have to get out there and make their name known. Maybe the first crop or two loses in a landslide— but it’s a step toward winning, since voters respond to names they’ve seen before.
This last thing isn’t a preference of mine, but it’s worth pointing out. On the Store page on the website of the Alabama Democrats, there are an array of graphic t-shirts, including ones supporting the legalization of marijuana. It makes me wonder, why haven’t Democrats run on this issue? This could mobilize voters who have been apathetic in the past. Me, I do my relaxing with craft beer and don’t care about pot . . . but lots and lots of other people do. If a “Free Weed” t-shirt is for sale on the website, then they’re already staking out that position— why not run on it?
After all, it’s time to think about winning.
