Interblog releases text of ELECTION REFORM - national proposal

Request for a tear down and feed back.

Well we've gone through an over all change in focus on how to accomplish reform via initiative procedure. It was extremely difficult to write into law the whole multitude of scenarios, and make illegal, all the possible methods to disenfranchise. However we think this is the way to go.

http://interblog.org/electionreformdraft.doc
http://interblog.org/electionreformdraft.txt

In this process I'll be outlining for discussion our interblog concept that we used for the first time in producing this plan. It was even more effective than I had first envisioned. The interblog concept is an affirmative action plan, organized around a think tank format, beginning with 5-6 people with significant experience in a particular discipline. It is an aggressive blog as opposed discussion format designed to move items out of the blogisphere and transition ideas happening there into the real world were change occurs.

For example this first group, we called a think tank module, a small focused group of highly experienced folks in their field, was composed of people with DIRECT hands on experience in the initiative procedure. Between the 6 of us in this focus group, we've produced over a dozen initiative or recall procedures, including hemp initiative the founder of COHIP (Colorado Hemp Initiative Project), C-SINS (Coloradoan for Shutdown Initiative of Nuclear Systems) Proposition One, an incredible piece of work by four individuals and tested by initiative in Washington DC and two Maryland counties, First recall of a Governor in American history, Arizona, one of my babies, Colorado's Med Marijuana initiative and a few more. The model can be utilized across the board on a number of issues to produce a real plan with high degree of chance of success.

The next step on the reform initiative is to further perfect the language on two fronts. I’ll do it here in Colorado and take advantage of one of the best initiative procedures in the states. Here we have what’s called The Legislative Council. When a committee files for a petition under the initiative procedure the language is handed to that council. This Council normally functions for the legislature. If your representative wants to pass legislation on a subject they give the Legislative Council an out line of what she wishes to accomplish and the council’s lawyers and paralegals turn the outline into legal language that fits into current law. They’ll do things like give feed back toward the perfection of language concerning conflict with existing law, confirm or recommend placement of proper section and subsection form even typos are expunged and other recommendations. The process takes one to two months and two council meetings. Having gone through the same procedure in a number of states I can tell you this one is superior in perfecting language on an initiative. Having gone through the procedure here three times and quite familiar with the complexities I’ve decided to handle it myself as the proposer. We will probably withdraw the proposal after the perfecting language is added, as we want to go through the qualifying procedures next year for 2006 election.
We’ll resubmit in early winter 2006 probably January. However by advancing the timetable here, we will be able to apply language changes for other states in a more timely manor. We’ll have better than nine months to perfect language for other individual states. As this will be occurring simultaneously in the other jurisdictions, it will allow for a comfortable time table.

The other method of perfecting language will be on the blogs through feed back. Now lets get into it and see if it will produce our desired effect. Get your ideas in here now because I wish to present it to the Colorado Legislative Council in about a month. Once it gets chiseled into stone there will be no opportunity for changes.