Why, if we technically live in a Democracy, do we have to fight in order to better streamline our voting process and make practical, efficient, and time-sensitive changes that would greatly benefit the country as a whole? Since the U.S. is the world leader in many respects, it only stands to reason that we should have a highly effective and fair voting system.

According to Merriam-Webster, a democracy is: “a government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised by them directly or indirectly through a system of representation usually involving periodically held free elections.” And yet, our system is based on highly indirect voting, at best. We feel that the following three changes to the voting system would greatly improve the state of our “Democracy.”

1.) Make Voting Day A National Holiday. 

People are busy. They’re working, dropping their kids off to school, picking them up, and managing a household at a minimum. Making extra time to go stand in line, in some places for up to hours on end, to cast their vote can often be downright impossible for a busy citizen making their way through day to day life.

How many Americans don’t vote? Approximately 40% of people who are of voting age don’t vote. Sure, some of them have been strategically disenfranchised by a system that makes them believe their vote won’t matter, so why waste time? There is also a whole demographic of people who would vote, but simply don’t have the extra time on a working day to step away for long enough to prioritize their civil right and, arguably, obligation to participate in the electoral process.

Voting day is one of the most important days of the year for a Government of, by, and for The People… Give citizens the day off to do their duty for the country!

2.) Fix The Unfair And Illegal Gerrymandering Of Districts.

Because of the controversial, excessive and partisan gerrymandering of districts, disenfranchised minorities and other misrepresented groups often stand no legitimate chance at electing officials that would more accurately reflect their needs and wishes. The solution to this problem would be to more accurately set up voting districts that reflect those groups of people who actually inhabit them so we can get their voices represented in the political process; even on the local level. While democracy almost certainly cannot heed the voice of every single individual in a large country or even small city, it should at least represent the collective interests of the majority opinion in individual voting districts.

3.) Allow The Winner To Be Chosen By Popular Vote.

The current format/process is an outdated and downright unfair method of electing a President. There is literally no reason that all single votes from a district can’t be counted, and a president and vice president elected based on cumulative vote totals. Isn’t that how a real democracy should work? The Electoral College is merely a fancy way of saying to the people: “thank you for your vote and your opinion, but we the establishment are going to do what we want to do anyway, because we know best.”

Hillary Clinton netted over 3 million more popular votes than Donald Trump (ie. “45”), and in fact, the past several presidencies where Democrats have lost the election was compromised by the Electoral College in favor of the Republican Party. While it’s certainly debatable whether the Democrats are the answer to solve the most important issues hamstringing our country, the least we can ask for in a two party system is to establish equality in the voting process, so that the most voted for candidate wins the election. Simple!

Finally, U.S. intelligence agencies have confirmed that our elections have been and currently are continually under attack by Russian (and other) hackers, and our current President and his administration are not doing much to stop it and won’t even acknowledge the fact it’s even happened despite the overwhelming evidence. This might beg the question: Is 45 in on the charade? Or at a minimum, does he understand that they’re trying to help him and his administration win and maintain power in the White House and Congress? What 45 doesn’t understand is that Russian interference isn’t attacking the U.S. with the sole agenda of keeping anyone specific in power, so much as they are trying to sew chaos, discord and division among those in power and among U.S. citizens. Given all of this, it is of paramount importance to protect, streamline and make our elections work for the people in a way that demonstrates a commitment to protecting the lifeblood of our democracy.