The Occupy Write In 2016 campaign is running strong. Organizing a protest vote of one kind or another has become something of a tradition for the Art Temple Mandala. It is a parallel of the Chaos Magick Nonsense and Mantras in the physical realm. It is the wizard behind the curtain.
I think of protest votes the same way I think about street protests. One of the quickest ways to get attention is to shut it down. It goes without saying that the immediate impact of a protest will upset some people. That’s the point. Shutting down an election is a tricky endeavor. I’ll settle for subverting the meaning and function of voting. Bottom-line, I don’t have the resources to implement a nation-wide vote. It seems more efficient to co-opt the mechanism that is already in place and used to register our choices in a novel way.
Ballot from the 2008 MN Senate Race
The Occupy Write In Campaign will get noticed when many people have posted pictures of their Recycled Votes and organized with their friends to highlight a short list of candidates, phrases, and/or hastags with which to Occupy Write In. If that happens, I will use that flash of the spotlight to demand reform of the voting system. I remember when the Mantra of Confusion manifested in the 2008 Minnesota Senate race and the Lizard People protest vote brought 15 seconds of fame to that voter. I will be more prepared. Ideally, the recognition will go to the group that organized behind a particular Repurposed Vote. You should be prepared, too.
Voting Reforms:
National standard for inclusion in public debates and on the state wide ballots for national office. States and localities retain the right to control ballot access for state and local elections.
More time to vote and less time to campaign. Shorter campaigns are a precondition for public financing. We need to get creative about public funding. Tapping into the ad revenue or monetizing public polls during the campaign and debates could go a long way to creating a self-funding mechanism. National holiday voting is a good idea.
Ranked Choice or other voting reform aimed at breaking down the Two Party Tyranny. The US needs more viable political parties. We are a diverse populace and we need a political spectrum that better reflects our culture. At a minimum, we demand an official Abstain or None of the above option on every ballot and every race. If None of the Above wins, the election is void and must be rerun without the current slate of candidates. Write in slot for every race.
Public funding of campaigns and harsh penalties for groups that campaign outside of the proscribed time limits. Get and keep the direct influence of money out of the campaign.
Make voting as common as rating businesses, entertainment, or other people on social media. For example, implement a bracket system for an office or proposed solution to a public issue as a series of votes. People vote to winnow the field and set up a one on one contest to fill the office. The Republicans could have used this mechanism to better regulate the large number of contestants in 2016. Using a similar scheme between parties would go a long way toward including more parties in the election.
Video list