Editorial
Pissed about the presidential elections? Blame the system. As long as Massachusetts–and every other state in the union except Maine–continues to run “winner take all” elections, all third-party candidates will continue to be shut out of “no new ideas” races between Wall Street backscratchers.
Ranked choice voting, which is widely used in other democracies, many cities and colleges in the US, and by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to award Oscars, can change all that. If you are unfamiliar with ranked choice, check out http://voterchoicema.org/ and while you’re there, take the first step toward revolutionizing government by adding your name to the mailing list.
Voter Choice, MA, is a chapter of FairVote, a national, non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to bringing more voices into the electoral arena. When I go to Voter Choice meetings, I sit in a room full of people from shades of the political spectrum never seen on most ballots. Since the outrageous results of the presidential election, Voter Choice, MA has experienced an exponential surge in membership. The new members are fired up and ready to work hard to make every vote count.
Join us. Don’t let your vote end up in the trash bin of history.
If you are angry enough to hit the streets, you can find information about demonstrations aimed at pressuring the Electoral College not to affirm the latest choice of the moneyed minority, here: http://December19.us . If you are planning on going to Washington DC on January 20, or 21, 2017, I hope you will ask yourself, “What exactly will this show of force accomplish?”
I have been to many marches on Washington DC and I can tell you that the laundry list of progressive, “must haves” has not changed a lot. Unless we can come together around radically changing an electoral system that silences any voice not bought and paid for by Wall Street, you can tell your comrades in arms, “See you again, next time.” I will be in Boston, MA at the anti-inaugural demonstrations, and the Women’s March, at the Voter Choice table, adding names to an effort with a vision and a plan. I hope to see you there.
Forward wildly,
A.
The opinions expressed in this editorial are mine alone.