TIME FOR ELECTION REFORM IN UTAH AND USA

The Utah Republican Senatorial candidate, Michael Shumway Lee, lives in Alpine and was reared in Provo and McLean, VA. He will become the fourth U.S. Senator with close ties to Utah County: Senators Reed Smoot (R-Provo), George Sutherland (R-Provo, later Supreme Court associate justice, the only justice with ties to Provo), Arthur Watkins (R-Orem), and now Lee.

Lee is 39 years old, which means I have undershirts older than he. Neither Lee nor Senator Hatch were born in Utah.

The recent primary election show how much electoral reform we need both locally and nationally.

A CALL TO ACTION -- Utah should abolish the caucus and convention system and select candidates strictly by a primary vote.

On the national level, we should not hold elections on a workday almost in the middle of the week. The Constitution set up Tuesday election days, because in 1787 the framers took into consideration when outlying farmers would typically come into the local village for church and shopping.

ANOTHER CALL TO ACTION — We should change 21st century election days to Saturdays and Sundays, to encourage more people to vote.

The minimum age for federal elected office needs reforming as well. Young minimum ages for representative, senator, and president were necessary back in days when people did not live long and did not need vast experience to serve in government. Now cultural conditions are different. We live much longer. The world around us has grown more complex.


ANOTHER CALL TO ACTION — Therefore we should by Constitutional Amendment raise the minimum age

– for a representative to 40 years of age.

– for a senator to 45.

– for a President of the United States to 50.

Lee, I believe, lacks the contemplation, maturity, creativity, vision, experience, and knowledge necessary in a good senator. The campaign shows he knows the cliches cold.

THE CALL TO ACTION – Who of experience can we encourage to run for senator in 2012 and in 2016? Unfortunately, we will find politics in 2010 painful.