Tom Ellis
1 min readAug 16, 2023

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I agree entirely that our electoral system needs a major overhaul. But the Two Party System itself is problematic. It has no constitutional basis, and is inherently schismatic, and thus prey to divisive, hateful demagogues like Trump. Multi-party systems, as found throughout Europe, Asia, and Latin America, give voters a much wider range of options, and since no one party usually gains a legislative majority, they also encourage coalition building and compromise. One path toward this end would be nonpartisan ranked choice primaries, followed by runoffs until one candidate achieves more than 50% of the popular vote. That and getting rid of the Electoral College—an inherently anti-democratic vestige of antebellum America—would do much to revitalize our democracy, especially if voting were mandatory for all citizens. I like your screening list, however, but it too should be nonpartisan—not subject to partisan distortion. Simply de-institutionalize the parties; that’s the main thing.

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Tom Ellis
Tom Ellis

Written by Tom Ellis

I am a retired English professor now living in Oregon, and a life-long environmental activist, Buddhist, and holistic philosopher.

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