One of the problems with #American pseudo-democracy is that it's a #gerontocracy - rule by the old. The average #Congresscritter is late-middle-age, and the average #Senator is dead. Young people are frustrated at their lack of voice.

#Canada isn't nearly as bad, but I fear it could trend in the same direction, so I've been thinking about solutions to the problem. I think I've got one that's better than the oft-floated fix of just imposing term limits on #elected office, because you'll probably still be first electing middle-aged people.

Instead, for each chamber, set a ceiling *average* age for members of that chamber. Maybe for the Canadian House of #Commons and the US House of #Representatives you want something like 40, while permitting the #Senate of each to be the "older, wiser house of sober second thought" by setting a number like 50.

Each day, the system automatically calculates the average age of members in that class, to account for birthdays etc. If birthday(s) suddenly push that average above the ceiling value, the oldest person in that class is automatically dismissed, leaving the position vacant to be filled by by-election / special election. Repeat until ceiling value achieved.

Here's the important bit: anyone turfed automatically this way does not receive a pension or other benefits; they're just gone. This gives them the incentive to resign before automatic expulsion; otherwise there's no reason for them to do so.

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#Pol #USPol #CanPol

#Vermont #Congresscritter calls today: Just left messages with #Welch and #Balint asking them to keep supporting the trans/non-binary communities, because my friends are afraid for their lives. Balint's assistant focused directly on kids' sports, which felt a little odd, but she got my point.

#Bernie's voicemail wasn't working, so no luck there.

#EarlyVoting starts tomorrow in #Texas.

I will #vote. And I will vote in every race. It goes from general to specific. The folks at the top are your national and state office-holders, and the folks at the bottom are the ones who are in charge of the parts of government you interact with most. Tax Assessor-Collector manages property tax. The county clerk does more than manage elections. Their office does licenses and DBAs and so on.

Also, I will take my (adult) #child to vote. Their child (my #grandchild) will come along., too. There is a video that explains how the voting machines work (https://youtu.be/9dvFaVxSjtI). I plan to watch outside with my grandson while my daughter votes. The only major update is that it will be one page of ballot paper. When I was training to work this election, they said the printout was reorganized to print two columns or something, so there will only be one sheet.

My #parents took me along when they voted. And, when there was an #election that used the school gymnasium as a polling location, our teacher would take us to see the voting booths. If there weren't voters present, the #electionWorkers would explain how the machines worked.

Because my father was totally #blind, my mother would go into the booth with my father. She would guide his hands to the levers and tell him what each one said, so he could vote for whom he chose and it would be secret from anyone outside the booth, because they heard all the candidates' names.

When I wa a preschooler, he ran for county judge (and lost). I remember the posters and him talking with a bullhorn.

When I was older, he would take me to political fundraisers. Because of this, I can actually list some of the things my then #CongressCritter and #senator supported.

I'm proud to say I'll be voting for #kamala and #ColinAllred. I will also be voting for #Democrats in all my local races.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f8lEbGVOzMg

#TheHumanistReport

#GOP Republican #CongressCritter* Goes HOOD OFF in Outrageously #Racist Attack on #HaitianImmigrants

#LiesKILL #StochasticTerrorism #SupportHaitians #ImmigrantsLivesMatter

#WTF #HaitianLivesMatter #SolidarityWithSpringfieldHaitians ❤️ 💙

* A nod to #JimHightower