Frankendesign

Jesse Jackson Jr. presses for fundamental election reforms
John Nichols

The Nation | 07 November 2001

(...)"Most Americans will be shocked, appalled and outraged to learn that their Constitution does not grant them the right to vote. The 15th, 19th and 26th Amendments prohibit 'discrimination' in voting on the basis of race, sex and age -- but does not extend to (Americans) the right to vote," (Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.) said, recalling Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's admonition to Al Gore's lawyers during last year's Florida dispute that no such protection exists. "Even though the right to vote is the supreme right in a democracy, the Supreme Court in Bush v. Gore told Americans there is no explicit fundamental right to suffrage in the Constitution."

Surrounded by Constitutional scholars and veteran voting rights activists, Jackson outlined a reform agenda that also included proposals to open presidential debates to viable third-party candidates and allow for Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) in presidential elections. In an IRV system, voters rank candidates on their ballots, with votes for losing first choices being transferred to second choice contenders. (Had such a system been in place last year, a voter could have cast a ballot for Green Ralph Nader and then, if Nader were eliminated, still have had a second-choice vote registered for Democrat Al Gore.)(...)
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