Redesigning the System

Faced with the choice between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, many election-watchers are again suggesting reforms of the presidential selection process.

A third party: that independent candidate John Anderson could get on the ballots of all 50 states in a matter of months shows the system's flexibility and the potential for a viable third party, some analysts say. But the winner-take-all nature of electoral politics, the new campaign spending laws, the difficulty of creating a national party from scratch, and the media's emphasis on the two major parties' nominees make the emergence of a third party unlikely in the near future.

Regional primaries: Though few professors endorse it, most call this oft-heard suggestion a promising possibility. By limiting primaries to four days of the campaign, this regional system would shorten the primary season, reduce the clout of early primaries like New Hampshire's, and give greater hope to potential candidates already holding elective office because less campaigning time presumably would be needed. Unless otherwise amended, though, a system of regional primaries would not increase the influence of party officials--which most analysts see as crucial. Still, the proposal is far more popular than the one-day national primary concept, which professors widely criticize for ignoring local differences, eliminating the "testing" function of a more drawn-out campaign, and giving even more influence to the media.

Advisory primaries: This suggestion appeals to those who want to give the actual choice of the candidate back to local party leaders from across the nation. The primaries would force candidates to test their appeals--and could, presumably, designate the choice of some delegates--but would not choose delegates bound to vote for a given candidate. Most experts see this idea as worthwhile--but nearly impossible to enact because it would seem to imply a return to the "boss" system.

Stronger parties: Virtually all experts see this as desirable, but have few suggestions of how to do it. Some suggest funneling matching funds to party officials, not individual candidates, thus strengthening party control. Others recommend designating half or more seats at national conventions for party officials--a proposal that would increase party influence but would also be hard to enact given its "undemocratic" appearance.

Direct election: For years, analysts and legislators have argued that the electoral college, by taking the final decision "out of the people's hands," is an archaic, outmoded and unfair way of selecting our presidents. What they--and a number of Congressmen who have introduced legislation--suggest is the institution of a direct vote, with the candidate receiving a plurality of the popular vote being the winner. But opponents, who claim that a direct vote would work unfairly against small states, have held the edge in the debate.