Confirmation Hearing: Ernest (Secretary of Forum Affairs)

[WMS]

In your opinion, is it possible to enact a system that allows for a voter to correct their ballot if they make an honest mistake, yet prevents people from deliberately spoiling their ballots or otherwise making tactical vote changes to their ballot? This is not a trick question, I'm genuinely curious.

[WMS]

I thank the honorable nominee for his reply. I would also like to pursue one point - again, not a trick question since I think you're very qualified for this position. Would it be possible to adapt the system so people could correct mistakes in their Presidential or Gubernatorial votes as well?

[WMS]

  Possible Senator, but without a ballot that is secret until at least the votes are counted, it would lead to a worse problem with tactical voting than we have now.  However, it would be possible to eliminate the listing of only half the ticket controversy that has affected a few Presidential ballots in the past by eliminating tickets.

  There are several methods that could be employed other than a two person ticket.  The one that would give the voters the greatest flexibility in choosing candidates would be to have the President and Vice President be elected separately.  Another way of retaining an elected Vice President while doing away with a ticket would be to use the original system of the United States in which the person who came in second in the Presidential race would become Vice President.  While both these options would prevent the President from having a Vice President of his own choosing, it would make balloting simpler and thus reduce potential points of controversy.
   Other possibilities would be to have the President nominate the Vice President in the same manner as the heads of the executive departments or to even eliminate the office of Vice President altogether and have the line of succession proceed directly to the heads of the executive departments.  These would retain the ability of the President to have a successor of his choice but at the cost of limiting voter input in the choice.

I thank the esteemed candidate for his reply.

[WMS]

Aye.