Voting 101
Some thoughts on how to actually connect the issues with the candidates to help people vote smart. Which issues can the President actually solve, and which need to be solved in Congress, or even more locally?
In general, the POTUS has an out-sized influence compared to what was intended. This is mostly because people don’t vote in mid-term elections, so Congressional policy falls in line with whatever perceptions are taken from presidential elections.
This un-engaged, un-informed voting leads to disappointment, which we don’t want. So…this is Voting 101, where we’ll learn what different positions do and how to vote accordingly (in a way that doesn’t require a ton of work):
The President
The President’s main function is foreign policy: They’re the Commander in Chief and Chief Diplomat. In Article II of the Constitution, the POTUS is also responsible for the execution and enforcement of laws (via the bureaucracy/ Executive Branch), even if they vetoed the law and were overruled.
Supreme Court justices are nominated by the President, as well as the heads of federal agencies like the CIA, EPA, Federal Bank, and Justice Department.
POTUSes also have certain “executive privileges.” These privileges have recently been used to take military action without a formal declaration of war and declare sensitive materials confidential, and have been applied to various forms of regulation as well.
Congress
Congress, being directly elected by the people, is the foremost authority on the laws of the land. They propose and pass laws, and can override a Presidential veto. Congress alone can formally declare war, and the Senate must ratify Presidential appointments.
The two houses of Congress exist to balance out the rights of individual states with the rights of individual people. The Senate makes sure Rhode Island can defend its interests with the equal force of Texas or California, while the House makes sure the populations of the latter two are heard in a proper proportion.
The House focuses more on fiscal policy, while the Senate is more focused on foreign policy and security. The Senate approves Presidential appointments and advises on treaties. The House passes spending bills and can initiate impeachments, while the Senate holds the trial.
Congress, especially the House, is divided into committees and subcommittees that specialize and focus on specific areas of legislation (budget, security, housing, etc).
Judicial
Judicial elections do not exist at the federal level. Article I judges, who “administer the laws that Congress writes,” such as tax and bankruptcy court judges, are appointed by Congress. Article III judges, general trials court (appellate court) judges, are appointed by the President. State Judges can be appointed, selected by a legislative committee, or voted on (sometimes being aligned with a party).
State Legislatures and Governors
The position of Governor mostly mirrors the Presidency, but on a state level. They sign or veto state laws, handle the state military apparatus (ie: Coast Guard), state bureaucracies, etc.
State legislatures also tend to function much like the federal legislature, with “Upper Houses” (think Senate) and “Lower Houses” (think House of Reps).
Local
Local elections are where it gets tricky. Every town and county has their own quirks, and can elect any variety of positions from Town Council and School Boards to the local Dog Catcher.
In all, there are over 500,000 elected officials in the United States. It’s probably more important for you to know what you’re voting for at the local level than at the national level, in terms of the quality of your day-to-day life.
However, for practical reasons I can’t delve into these so much. Instead, you can look up the last couple of ballots to see the positions that were voted on, and figure out the responsibilities of the positions that are up for re-election. Then you can decide your view of what that position should and shouldn’t do, and vote for the closest candidate. Or find the positions responsible for the things you care about.
How to Vote
You need to be well-informed on the current state of affairs in order to vote wisely on the future state of affairs. Here’s four high-level tips and then a deep dive on some things to consider when thinking about different candidates.
1. Be Objective. Reading too much Fox News and National Review doesn’t help anyone. Balance it out with MSNBC and The Atlantic. The BBC, CFR.org, WaPo, the New York Times, and Politico are all quality options, too.
If you’re not objective, you’ll end up voting for Trump because he promises to “fix” the economy, Bernie Sanders because he promises free college and better health care, or HRC because your union tells you to. And nothing will change.
2. Since the Senate and House both have to pass the same laws and often share other responsibilities, people rightfully pretty much vote the same for House and Senate. Splitting parties here doesn’t make a lot of sense, instead vote for the party that most aligns with your issues. And to avoid partisan gridlock, be willing to cross party lines to vote for important issues and send a message.
3. Prioritize broadly. Obviously it’s tough for 1 vote to matter, so having community-wide priorities are important. This is where objective education comes in. Voting on niche issues that affect thousands instead of millions is stupid.
Vote on infrastructure reform, job reform, tax reform. And have a specific idea of what you want to see in these areas. People think infrastructure sounds boring, but people need to realize that imagining and taking steps to enact the future you want is not boring. If society talked about these wants and desires more we’d all live in a better world.
4. Read as much as you can about your local reps and understand the difference in what gets provided by the federal government and what gets provided by the local government. Vote for your state legislature based on the laws you want to see.
Governors shouldn’t be that powerful, but they typically have many executive powers so if laws aren’t being enforced or executed, or executive powers are being abused, vote out your governor or mayor.
Now, in terms of applying constitutional knowledge to voting, perhaps a few examples will help:
On social issues, the President’s influence is in their appointments of federal judges. However, these judges still have a responsibility to uphold the law and interpret the constitution. Ipso facto, vote for legislators (national and state) to pass the laws you want to see upheld.
As you can see, the co-responsibility created by our checks and balances makes voting tricky. This is where I think a breakdown of my (idealized) voting behavior may be helpful. Here is a list of each position and the top 3 factors I believe they should be evaluated on, in order of importance:
POTUS
1. Foreign policy — Hawk or dove? Are we at a point where strong US leadership is needed? Trade negotiations?
2. Administrative prowess/Domestic policies — Can they manage the bureaucracy and tangled web of security networks and increase their effectiveness and efficiency?
3. Fiscal policy — Monetary policy (The Fed), budgetary influence, and new use of executive powers for regulation. Honorable Mention: Social views — judicial appointments.
· Signals: Federal laws are not being executed well; bureaucratic bloat; foreign policy blunders
House of Reps
- Fiscal Policy — Taxes, job creation, spending.
2. Diversity of experience, particularly in areas of local importance — The House has various sub-committees and should have diverse backgrounds to increase effectiveness and properly represent national needs (Engineers, Doctors, Veterans, Insurance experts, whatever’s relevant).
4. Social/Constitutional views — Congress writes the laws, and can determine states’ rights in conjunction with the courts.
· Signals: Many Congresspeople stay in office because they hold committee seats. Seats are useful but not if they’re not actively writing and proposing other legislation. Congresspeople should be experts there to write legislation to solve a current problem, and be gone within 2–3 terms.
The Senate
1. Social views — They must approve Presidential appointments, and if the public takes a stance on these in the Senate, it will force appointments in that direction.
2. Foreign Policy — They advise on foreign policies and treaties.
3. Diversity of experience — The Senate also has a wide variety of duties.
· Signals: Much of the same as with the House. Legislators should be bringing something specific to the table and delivering those laws.
States and Local
· I adopt similar stances on how to vote at the state level as I do at the national level, but you’ll have to take into account the nuances of your state, county, and municipality.
· What do you want your property taxes to look like (property taxes fund public schools)? Who should be the police chief or serve on the school board? Understand what these roles do, especially at the local level, and you’ll end up placing smarter, more objective votes. And then you’ll live a better life, too.
I hope this was helpful, and I’d love to read any thoughts on how you might adjust my voting tactics when you hit the booth.
Other tips: Remember that federal law trumps state law, and so on and so forth. If states’ rights and small government is an issue for you, realize that that’s a judicial and legislative problem and vote accordingly in the federal and state Senates to affect appointments and legislation. If income inequality is big for you, vote accordingly in the House to affect tax policy and budgeting. Also, read Democracy in America.
