Improving the Presidential Election Process - Essay Example

Running Head: CAMPAIGNS AND ELECTIONS Citizens United versus Federal Election Commission Essay on how to improve the PresidentialElection ProcessThe American system of presidential elections includes a series of presidential primary elections and caucuses. These primary elections are held in each and every state and territory which makes the nomination process very inclusive. Either a single state or territory may hold only primary elections, caucuses or combine both elections and caucuses (Ware, 2002, p 35).

Events dealing with primary elections are scheduled by local and state governments between January and June of every election year while caucuses are run by individual political parties. Results collected from primary elections and caucuses are used to determine the number of delegates to be assigned to the national conventions of each party (Sabato, 2006, p 61). The appointed delegates then select the presidential nominees basing on the party’s by-laws for their parties as they move towards November General Elections.

This system of undertaking caucuses and presidential primaries is faced with shortcomings when some states hold their primary elections and caucuses earlier than others leading to biased allocation of delegates in each state. On the contrary the process is successful when campaign costs are cut down due to candidates concentrating resources in one state at a time because of the prolonged period of both caucuses and primary elections. According to the United States electoral procedures, delegates elected into the national conventions are charged with the responsibility of nominating official presidential candidates for the two major political parties of the United States (Kendall, 2000, p 56).

To provide a balanced electoral system for the primary elections and caucuses, there need to be a balanced primary system where primary contents could be held in between late January and late May. Each state should be assigned a specific time frame and provision for electing 12% of delegates from a single state for party nominations. Using this system will have provisions where larger states will have more positions for additional delegates since the smaller states would have been catered for.

In addition, a balanced diversity in the contest could be maximized by pairing liberal states with conservative states and urban areas to be harmonized with rural areas. By implementing this proposed system of conducting both primary elections and caucuses in each state, lesser known political candidates will get an equal chance to be nominated just like their influencing opponents. Furthermore it will cut down on advertising costs and travel time hence election hopefuls’ will save on time and money.

These added advantages make this recommendation more urgent than the rest since the American presidential nomination process is quickly breaking down and it could be detrimental in hampering fair and just electoral processes. The second setback in the American nomination process and the Presidential election is the lengthy procedures which makes the election process too long. For instance, official 2012 presidential campaigns were scheduled to begin on April 4th, 2012. This is roughly nineteen months before general elections.

Such lengthy procedures demand a lot strategizing and groundwork which translates to a lot of resource wastage. Presidential hopefuls begin hosting fundraising meetings to raise money for campaigns. Also, exploratory committees have to be formed to lay groundwork for the presidential bid. The 2008 presidential elections were the longest in the history of United States which revealed a major flaw in the U.S elections (Mellman, 2012, p 19). It is obvious that the party that spends a lot of money and time wins the American presidency.

With the advent of Information Technology and social networks, the process can be simplified through the use of technological platforms such as Facebook and twitter where voters can interact with candidates. By so doing, the election time can be reduced to eight months where campaigns can be rescheduled to commence in April. The rest of the time can be used for accelerating revival of the lethargic American economy, reducing debts, creating job opportunities and much more. Implementing this recommendation of reducing election time would help politicians use their resumes to gunner votes and implement deceptive slogans and empty promises.

ReferencesKendall, K. (2000). Communication in the presidential primaries: Candidates and the media. Michigan: Home Park Publications.Mellman, M. (2012). Iowa and New Hampshire: its win one or go home. Los Angeles Times, Retrieved Feb 3, 2012Sabato, L. (2006). Politics: America’s missing constitutional link. Virginia Quarterly Review. Summer 2006, 149-61Ware, A. (2002). The American direct primary: Party institutionalization and transformation in the North. New York: Times Press.