Forum Post: Union of American Voters

Union of American Voters

The Union of American Voters is an idea for a voters union of Americans united across party lines to hold representatives accountable to their voting constituency. The means by which the representatives are to be held accountable is through the employment of contractual representation. Contractual representation refers to the act of voters uniting to write contracts for prospective representatives to adhere to who are seeking to either obtain or retain public office. Issues that the voters can agree upon will become stipulations in the contract while issues that the voters cannot agree upon will become issues to be voted upon within the representative district. The contracted representative is under contract to propose legislation that the district majority has voted to have proposed as well as be dependent upon the decision of the district’s majority vote pertaining to legislation that the representative is to vote upon at the capital. Under contractual representation, the representatives make no independent decisions and are always directed by their district’s majority vote. This requires that the Union voters take on the commitment of reviewing legislation at the local, state, and national levels and vote on such legislation before their representatives are required to. Such a task is likely to be done online at the district website established by the district chapter of the Union of American Voters. If an elected contracted representative should for any reason betray the trust of the voters by acting independent of their direction, legal penalties stipulated within the contract to include a vote of no confidence will be immediately enacted to have the representative removed from office.

The power of the Union of American Voters lies in voter solidarity to only vote for candidates who agree to the Union’s contract. Different contracts will naturally exist for different levels of government and will vary from district to district but all will have the same stipulations of voter primacy in directing the actions of the representatives. If no candidate is willing to be under a Union contract, the solidarity of the voters in boycotting non-contracted candidates will produce a strike in the electoral process. As being a candidate of a political party and choosing to be under contract to serve a majority’s interests regardless of party affiliation can create a conflict of interest, independent candidates are more than likely to be the candidates who easily agree to contractual representation. In turn, the candidates who agree to contractual representation are most likely to do so when the Union voters of a district constitute a majority. The building of Union membership is therefore paramount to the success of voter solidarity and the reality of two quotes should always be in mind for those endeavoring to build that membership.

"all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed." -Declaration of Independence

"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it." -George Bernard Shaw