The Primary Process Needs to be Fixed

This is a screencap of the delegate distribution in Wyoming despite Sanders winning by over 12% of the state's popular vote

If you have a pulse and pay even the remotest attention to politics in the United States, it's safe to say that there is something about the Presidential Primary process that confuses you. If you watch interviews with people who are in charge of the process in their own states, even some of them aren't exactly sure how it's run. The problem is this process is alienating the average person from getting involved in the elections process let alone even caring about it.

So many people believe the process is rigged and examples in recent weeks have shown this to be true. In the Democratic Primary held in Wyoming, Bernie Sanders won the popular vote by over 12 percent, but walked away with 7 delegates compared to Hillary Clinton's 11 delegates. One of Clinton's supporters on CNN when asked if they felt this was fair answered, "Oh well."

Trevor Noah asked Debbie Wasserman Schultz on The Daily Show if this is a rigged process and she refused to answer the question directly. When pressed she made the excuse that superdelegates have been around for years and that nothing was wrong with the distribution process.

The process is broken. Superdelegates don't care what their constituents want. In the case of Clinton, after the very first primary held in Iowa nearly ended in a dead tie between Sanders and her, it was announced on every mainstream news station that she was up by over 400 delegates already. How is that not rigged? From day one it's very easy for a person to come to the conclusion that their vote doesn't count since Clinton was basically spotted 400 plus delegates. California is the largest state in the union and has 475. These 400 plus superdelegates that are now up to 477, means that 477 people have just as much power as 39 million residents of the largest and most diverse state in the country.

This creates disenfranchisement among a party and those who already feel disconnected to an overly complicated political system. The problem will never be fixed with people like Wasserman Schultz who are running the Democratic National Committee because there is a clear conflict of interest. She was a campaign manager for Hillary Clinton's campaign in 2008 and one of her best friends. The pro-Clinton Super Pacs are all run by people who also have superdelegate votes. All clear conflicts of interest especially against a candidate that doesn't have, nor want a Super Pac.

There is a DNC rule that states: "The Chairperson shall be responsible for ensuring that the national officers and staff of the Democratic National Committee maintain impartiality and even-handedness during the Democratic Party Presidential nominating process.”

Henry R. Muñoz III, who was President Obama's top fundraising manager is now the Chairperson for the Democratic Party's financial operations. He organized a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in San Antonio, Texas which is a clear violation of the impartiality rule. Wasserman Schultz when pressed whether she would reprimand and/or fire Muñoz for this avoided the question. Some speculation is because she herself had connection to this particular fundraiser. The leaders of DNC have made up their mind from day one that Clinton will be their nominee.

Everyone who holds high positions in both the Democratic and Republican National Committees are content to say that's just how the whole system works and nothing can be done about it. Of course something can be done about it, but both party chairs don't want to. You can't use the excuse that the system has been this way for a while, so what can you do?

The obligation to the American people should be to fix and simplify the process so it encourages more people to vote and be interested in the whole process. It can be done.

First, California should be moved up in the Primary schedule. The most diverse state in the union with the most delegates shouldn't be voting on the very last day. All of the Southern states voted before a single West Coast state (with exception to Nevada) even got to cast a single vote. The Primary schedule should be shuffled evenly across the country.

We have seen this personally affect Sanders' campaign because much of his base is within these Western and Midwestern states. By the time they get to vote, the appearance of a Clinton victory already seems inevitable especially with the addition of superdelegates added to the mix, discouraging voters in the West from even showing up to the polls.

Secondly, make the state by state Primary process delegation distribution purely based on the popular vote of that state. For example, if a state has 100 delegates and Candidate A earns 62 percent of the state's overall popular vote and Candidate B earns 33 percent, then Candidate A should earn 62 of the delegates and Candidate B should earn 33. This prevents issues such as what happened in Wyoming.

Thirdly, make the Primary vote an all-day process just as the National Elections are. Not between 5pm to 7pm or similar examples to this that have small voting windows. The law gives people the guaranteed right to vote on National Election days by making sure an employer grants their employee the appropriate time to get to their precinct and vote (although this isn't always observed by many employers these days), but this law doesn't grant the same right on Primary days.

A good example of this was what happened in Arizona. Garnering a stronger base among younger voters, Sanders' supporters found themselves in long lines when they showed up to their precincts. The law states that as long as a voter is in line in time their vote will count even if they haven't been able to reach the voting booth before the precincts are scheduled to close. With the precincts cut down to 60 from the 200 that existed in 2012 despite the projected voter count to rise from 200,000 in 2012 to 800,000 this year, lines in Arizona were longer than ever before. Instead of counting every voters ballot and following the law, the precincts were closed while people were still waiting in line. This gave the advantage to Clinton who won 56 percent to Sander's 41 even though he was projected to be the winner.

This decision to close the polls hurt Sanders because younger voters tend not to rush to the polls the moment they open. They're more likely to show up halfway along the process. Also because it was held on a weekday, younger people tend to be at school or stuck at work for the first portion of the hours that the Primary is open.

On the other hand, Clinton does better with older people and business owners/managers. Older people, especially those who are already retired, tend to show up early, often right when the precincts open. If they aren't retired, they are often in positions that they can cut out early for the day or schedule around the beginning of the Primary.

When precincts closed despite not letting those in line cast a ballot, Sanders lost any chance he had to win the state. Having an all-day long Primary allows for more of a chance for people to show up to cast their ballot.

Fourthly, I'm not even 100 percent against the concept of a superdelegate. There are just way too many. Limit superdelegates to surviving ex-Presidents and ex-Vice Presidents (unless they are running). Currently that would leave Democrats with superdelegate votes going to Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, Al Gore, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden. Bill Clinton because of a conflict of interest would lose his superdelegate vote. On the Republican side this would leave George H.W. Bush, Dan Quayle, George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney. Beyond that, we don't need anymore. Call it a benefit for winning the office of President in the past.

Fifthly, get rid of Super Pacs. They muddle up the process and make people with money count more than the average American. They also lead to bribery when they buy delegates votes in contested conventions. As CNN reported, Super Pacs are working on delegates now, offering them vacations, money, and other gifts if they cast a ballot for the nominee that the Super Pac wants if the conventions are contested. This year both the Democrats and Republicans could easily have contested conventions. Plus Super Pacs buy so much media that they can sway an election if their commercials reach the voters the way they want them to, once again meaning the voice of those with money mean more than the average voter.

Lastly, get rid of the electoral college. College Political Science professors let alone high school teachers have trouble explaining the process and why the district lines are the way they are. With gerrymandering rigging the whole process as it is, district lines are completely unfair. Of course you won't be able to ignore districts as a whole because they are needed to determine the members of the House of Representatives, but draw the lines cleanly and fairly, and leave the Presidential process open to an overall popular vote by the entire state.

In a time when globalization is now taking place, the electoral college process finds itself antiquated.

Make the elections more "user-friendly". Every American should be able to have their vote count just as much as the next person. Make every state a popular vote state that has an all-day long Primary. Get rid of 99 percent of superdelegates. Shuffle the states every election year so all states feel as their votes count as much as those in other states.

Taking these steps will help simplify the process and get more people personally invested in the process. Voter turnout in 2012 was at 57.5 percent for those who were eligible to vote, but other countries in the world have 80 plus percent turnouts. Americans are so jaded in the process that they believe that their individual votes no longer count. Get them re-involved in the process and let every possible voice be heard.