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Campaign Reform
Screening the Candidates

Shaun Kerry, M.D.

If the changes that we have discussed on this site were implemented, there would obviously be a very large number of candidates. Given the lack of financial requirements, nearly anyone would be able to run for office. In order to manage such a large body of prospective candidates, there would have to exist some type of screening process.

One of the screening processes now in use requires a large number of signatures on a petition. While this sounds fair in principle, the signatures are actually bought by mailings or other campaigns. It costs X number of dollars to secure each signature. The resulting expense is often millions of dollars. Acquiring signatures has little to do with the qualifications of the candidate or the validity his propositions for bettering the state of our society.

The purpose of the screening process is to help the voter to eliminate most of the unqualified candidates. At present, we support the "Amazon" method mentioned earlier. It works for sifting through hundreds of thousands of books to find the right one, so why not adapt it for use with political candidates? The server in use would be managed by a team of people, with no one person having control. Any person could submit suggestions for improving the site and its administration. The site you are reading now operates in a similar way. We respond to reader suggestions, and as we grow, our site will become more sophisticated.

In the past, we had considered accreditation boards to rate the candidates. We have since changed our position on this and think that this would be unnecessary. The Amazon system, coupled with a media response that mirrors it, seems the most democratic and efficient. It would be administered by the people, and would improve over time just as versions of software improve. This site will continue to be updated to reflect the most appropriate suggestions. Please let us hear your opinions. We respond to all e-mail suggestions and pay for ones that we can use.