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THE PHILADELPHIA PLAN: Common Sense + New Ideas

ELECTIONS - BE FAIR!

1. SHOW UP TO CAST & COUNT THE BALLOTS / NO ELECTRONIC OR MAIL-IN BALLOTS
2. SIMPLIFY THE BALLOT
3. ADOPT "POLITICAL PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION" (PPM)

Elections in America today are an unmitigated disaster... with no meaningful Transparency, Oversight, or Accountability (TOA). Below are some suggestions for the nation.

First, there's the issue of election integrity. In Pennsylvania and many other states, voters are only required to show ID to register to vote, but not to vote after the first time, which opens the door to voter fraud. Voters are then forced to either vote on machines or mail-in their paper ballots, neither of which are secure in any meaningful manner from errors or fraud, by accident or design.  Voters should have the right to have their ballots hand cast and hand-counted on Election Day only. Ballot scanners could be used to verify the hand-count, but not the reverse.  And because it is impossible for many voters to vote on Election Day due to unavoidable circumstances, we are supporting two week early in-person voting and counted that same day in full view of "watchers" from both political parties at a central location such as city hall, but not any mail-in voting. This would result in daily totals being announced to the public. Members of the military can vote on their ships or bases, while American citizens overseas can vote at their nearest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.

Second, we need to simplify the ballots and the process. Ballots are, too often, long and complicated, resulting in voters' getting "ballot fatigue" and not voting.  Then, there's the issue of ranked-choice voting, which over-complicates the voting process and allows less popular candidates to win elections. And we also have third parties acting as spoilers and confusing the voters. Again, resulting in the lesser popular candidate winning.  Just as we only have two teams on a playing field at one time, we should restrict ourselves to the 2-party system.  Otherwise, we have chaos and confusion.

Third, we need to adopt "proportional representation" between Republicans and Democrats, thus eliminate "winner takes all" election results for U.S. Congressional races, state legislative races, and municipal elections, which favors the majority party and eliminates any minority party representation. To that end, political districts should only consider population and geography, plus urban and rural considerations; with minority party representation being awarded in their best performing districts, proportionally.

1. ENSURE ELECTION INTEGRITY

• PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP & PHOTO ID: We support The SAVE ACT (H.R. 7296/House Amendment to S.1383), introduced by Congressman Chip Roy (TX-21), which requires proof of citizenship to register to vote and requires photo identification to cast a ballot in federal elections.

• PROOF OF RESIDENCE: No voter should be able to vote if they can't prove where they reside, which would exclude those homeless and illegal immigrants who are living on the streets from voting, but not those residing in a long-term shelter or other long-term residences. Here's my article on this subject: Apr 2, 2025: Federal Agency Helps Homeless & Countless Others Evade Voter “Residency & ID" Requirements

• UP-TO-DATE VOTER ROLLS:  We support The US DOJ's efforts to update voter rolls (see Assistant AG Dhillon Reveals Dead Voters + Illegals Registered to Vote in 2026.  Registration should be closed one month before an election in order to verify that the registrations are legitimate and the records up-to-date.

• VOTE IN-PERSON ON ELECTION DAY OR EARLY, BUT NO MAIL-IN VOTING:  We strongly urged people to NOT vote by mail, but instead go to the polls on Election Day; if that's not possible, then vote early, if that is an available option. We can match the number of voters who come into the polling place with the numbers of votes cast on the machines, at least (although we can't track whether the machines counted the votes correctly or not). We CANNOT track ballots that get lost in the mail or otherwise go missing or get replaced. In addition, if your ballot does have your address on the outside envelope, someone can determine what party you belong to.

• PAPER TRAIL FOR VOTING MACHINES (under current circumstances): We support Pres Trump's "Election Integrity" March 25, 2025 Exec Order, which restricts electronic systems from embedding votes within barcodes or QR codes.

• 100% HAND-COUNTED PAPER BALLOTS: We propose that all paper ballots, either filled out by hand or produced and counted by voting machines, also be HAND COUNTED at the local polls on Election Day, and not simply audited.  Currently, paper ballots are only counted if the election is "close", typically 1% to 0.5%.  However, that allows large numbers of ballots to be miscounted, by accident or design, yet go undetected. It only stands to reason that if someone is going to rig an election, it will be done by a sufficient number of votes to avoid triggering a recount. "In the 2002 Clay County, Kansas, commissioner primary, voting machines said Jerry Mayo ran a close race but lost, garnering 48 percent of the vote, but a hand recount revealed Mayo had won by a landslide, receiving 76 percent of the vote according to the book, “Black Box Voting.”" https://bgfalconmedia.com/137053/news/bg-news/voting-machines-are-a-problem/

• ALL ELECTION DAYS SHOULD BE HOLIDAYS including primary elections, plus all employees must be given time off to vote.

• ONLY THOSE CITIZENS "IN JAIL" SHOULD BE BANNED FROM VOTING, otherwise former prisoners should be allowed to vote and run for office.

• "PUBLIC VOTING" OPTION: We also propose that voters, during the Early Voting period or on Election Day, have the option (and the right) to CAST THEIR VOTES PUBLICLY (includes the voter's name, dates, and time, but not address) AND HAVE THEM PUBLICLY DISPLAYED at the polls, so that Poll Watchers and the public can follow the count of these publicly cast votes. Otherwise, voters have no idea if their votes were accurately counted or not. "Public Voting" is the way most voters voted in elections worldwide until the mid/late 1800's.

• ONLINE ACCESS TO STREET LISTS of registered voters, so that Republicans and Democrats voters can easily locate one another for organizing purposes.

2. SIMPLIFY ELECTIONS  

• All terms would be for 4 years, because 2-year terms are too short and require our federal and state 'house' legislators to be constantly campaigning. Conversely, 6-year Senate terms are too long. There would be one election year devoted only to "committee person" and "state committee" races, giving them the attention and importance that they deserve. See "Suggested Calendar" below.

• Consolidate - Follow The Federal Model:  Governors, City Mayors, and County Commissioners would be given similar executive powers as the U.S. President, which means eliminating all other (down ballot) executive branch offices, such as school board, comptroller, attorney general or district attorney, prothonotary, etc.. In addition, the executives (federal, state, or local) would not require the approval of the legislature to hire their department heads and other appointments which unfairly interferes with their ability to perform their duties.

  • The School Board would be appointed by the Mayor (or County Commissioners in multiple municipality counties) and be advisory only. However, there would be 3 city-wide advisory associations from the 330 Philadelphia public schools: 1) a Student Association (1 student and an alternate, elected by the student body at each school), 2) a Parent Association (1 parent and alternate elected by the parents at each school), and 3) a Teacher Association (1 teacher and alternate elected by the teachers at each school). Each association would elect 10 members each, totally a 30-member School Board Advisory Council, to advise city mayors or county commissioners, as the case may be.

  • The Philadelphia City Commissioners would appoint The Board of Elections members through applications from the Democratic, Republican, and other party Ward Leaders (ex: Judge of Elections, Election Inspectors, Clerks, and Machine Inspectors). The Minority Inspector and Clerk positions being required to be filled by a member of the minority party per voter registration information for that division. The commissioners may draft voters, if necessary, to fill any position, but those people must still represent the two parties proportionately. Currently, many Philadelphia election boards are all Democrats, which defeats the purpose of "meaningful public oversight" of the election process.

  • Judges would be appointed by the Mayor on the advice of City Council (or by the County Commissioners in multiple municipality counties, on the advice of the municipal mayors), also taking into account the recommendations of legal societies, other civic organizations, and individuals.

       SUGGESTED ELECTION CALENDAR VS CURRENT CALENDAR:

3. ADOPT GOP/DEM "POLITICAL PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION" REDISTRICTING:

Proportional Representation (PPR) avoids the "tyranny-of-the-majority" and "winner-takes-all" situation that many voting districts face, and gives a voice to the minority party in government.

• It would apply to the two largest political parties by voter registration, Republicans and Democrats, but not apply to any other party claiming to be a minority party. For example, currently The Working Families Party, has only 34 registered voters in the whole city of Philadelphia, yet won two "minority party" seats on Philadelphia City Council.

• Under PPR, all City Council seats would represent Districts, which would require redistricting, and would result in smaller districts if City Council maintains 17 seats, which would benefit both voters and council members.

• The reason to drop "at large" seats on City Council is that "at-large" council members give the majority party a disproportionate advantage in any election.

• Philadelphia City Council could remain at 17 seats (comprising approximately equal numbers of voters), but a proportion of those seats would be designated for the minority party.

• Currently, due to the current 7 to 1 registration advantage of Democrats over Republicans, that would result in awarding the Republicans two seats.

• Instead of setting aside 2 seats for the minority party, as is the current practice, the minority party would represent those districts where they received the highest number of votes proportionate to the majority party, which would mean that in those districts, although the majority party may have won, a minority candidate would take the seat.