Proposed Amendment A: Amending the Constitution (Replacing Article V)
Section 1: Establishing Federal Geopolitical Divisions
Upon ratification of this amendment, each state’s legislature shall designate Federal Precincts, which shall have no less than 100 and no more than 300 residents as of the most recent US Census. Whenever possible, these Precincts should use the boundaries of existing counties (or county-type geopolitical designations), cities, or towns.
Federal Precincts should be grouped into Wards, which should be grouped into Districts, which should then be grouped into Cantons. A Ward should have no more than 30 Precincts, a District no more than 30 Wards, a Canton no more than 30 Districts, and a State no more than 30 Cantons. In general, the number of subdivisions in any division should be approximately the fourth root of the number of precincts in the State. Any State with fewer than eight million adult residents may choose not to have Cantons, in which case the target number of subdivisions in each geopolitical region should be approximately the cube root of the number of Precincts. In either case, using preexisting boundaries should take precedence over numerical purity, but maximums must not be exceeded. Therefore, no Ward shall have more than 9000 persons, no District more than 270,000, and no Canton more than 8,100,000
In the District of Columbia, the city council shall have responsibility for subdividing it and establishing Assembly sites and times. The District of Columbia shall hereafter be designated as an independent Canton, and the Canton Assembly shall replace the City Council.
Upon each Census, if any jurisdiction’s population shall exceed the maximum, then the State Assembly shall reapportion accordingly.
Section 2: Initiating Amendment
Whenever two thirds of both Houses shall deem it necessary, or whenever the Legislatures of two thirds of the several States, or ten percent of the Citizens of two-thirds of the states, or seven percent of the citizens of all the states, shall submit to Congress a Petition to Amend the Constitution, or whenever it has been 12 years since the last Constitutional Amendment was ratified, Congress shall begin the process for amending this Constitution described hereafter.
Congress must establish a two week period for citizens to register to participate. All citizens interested in participating in the Constitutional Amendment process shall register in their Shire lottery. Immediately upon the close of the registration period, public lotteries will be held to choose 200 delegates from each Federal District. Two weeks after the lottery, the District Constitutional Conventions shall meet in session. These shall consider proposals for amending the federal constitution. The sponsor of any proposal which is passed by the assembly shall be considered a delegate to the Canton or State level Convention, unless the number of such shall exceed the maximum number of delegates.
District Conventions may remain in session for as many as four days, and on the fifth day must elect delegates to the Canton or State Conventions. No more than ten Delegates shall be elected using a Single Transferable Vote, and each Delegate elected shall carry the number of votes received as proxies.
Seven to ten days after the closing of the District Conventions, the Canton Conventions shall convene. No new Constitutional Amendments may be proposed after the adjournment of the District Conventions, but initial proposals may be further amended as necessary to pass through the graduated assemblies, and similar proposals may be combined. Canton Conventions shall meet in session for as many as four days, and on the fifth day must elect no more than ten delegates to the State Conventions by Single Transferable Vote. Each Delegate elected shall carry the number of votes received as proxies.
Seven to ten days after the closing of the Canton Conventions, the State Conventions shall convene. State Conventions shall meet in session for as many as nine days, and on the tenth day must elect no more than ten delegates by single transferable vote to the Federal Constitutional Convention. Each delegate shall retain the number of proxy votes that elected him/her to the Convention.
Any proposal that receives a majority in the Convention, but fails to carry at least 2/3 of the proxy votes, must be referred to a Compromise Committee for revision. The Convention will adjourn when all proposals have either failed or been passed by 2/3 majority of proxy votes, or when 2/3 of proxy votes shall choose adjournment over continuation, or after 35 working days in session.
Section 3: Ratification
Amendment Proposals which pass the Federal Convention by 2/3 vote must then be voted on by the State Legislatures and by a national referendum. Referendum votes shall be counted by District, State, and total.
If a Proposal shall be ratified by 3/4 of the state legislatures, then it shall require majorities in either a majority of Districts or a majority of States AND a majority of the overall popular vote.
If a Proposal is ratified by 2/3 of States but less than 3/4, then it shall require either a majority in 2/3 of States or 2/3 of Districts OR 2/3 majorities in a majority of States or a majority of Districts AND 3/5 of the overall popular vote.
If a Proposal is ratified by a majority of States, but less than 2/3, then it shall require a 2/3 majority in 2/3 of States or in 2/3 of Districts AND 2/3 of the overall popular vote.
If a Proposal is ratified by less than a majority of State legislatures, then it shall require either a 2/3 majority in 3/4 of States or 3/4 of Districts OR a 3/4 majority in 2/3 of States or 2/3 of Districts AND 3/4 of the overall popular vote.
Amendment B: The Legislative Branch (Replacing Article I)
Section 1: Establishing Federal Geopolitical Divisions
NOTE 1: If Amendment A (above) regarding amending the Constitution has been ratified, this section will not be necessary to include.
NOTE 2: The names of the various levels of federal jurisdictions given here are only suggestions. They might also be called Shires, Divisions, Duchies, Baronies (even though these last two are commonly identified with classes of nobility, at one time the word county also had such a connotation) or any other names, as may be preferred by the people.
Upon ratification of this amendment, each state’s legislature shall designate Federal Precincts, which shall have no less than 100 and no more than 300 residents as of the most recent US Census. Whenever possible, these Precincts should use the boundaries of existing counties (or county-type geopolitical designations), cities, or towns.
Federal Precincts should be grouped into Wards, which should be grouped into Districts, which should then be grouped into Cantons. A Ward should have no more than 30 Precincts, a District no more than 30 Wards, a Canton no more than 30 Districts, and a State no more than 30 Cantons. In general, the number of subdivisions in any division should be approximately the fourth root of the number of precincts in the State. Any State with fewer than eight million adult residents may choose not to have Cantons, in which case the target number of subdivisions in each geopolitical region should be approximately the cube root of the number of Precincts. In either case, using preexisting boundaries should take precedence over numerical purity, but maximums must not be exceeded. Therefore, no Ward shall have more than 9000 persons, no District more than 270,000, and no Canton more than 8,100,000
In the District of Columbia, the city council shall have responsibility for subdividing it and establishing Assembly sites and times. The District of Columbia shall hereafter be designated as an independent Canton, and the Canton Assembly shall replace the City Council.
Upon each Census, if any jurisdiction’s population shall exceed the maximum, then the State Assembly shall reapportion accordingly.
Section 2: Graduated Assemblies
The sitting elected officials of the counties (or county-like governments) shall designate the location and date of the initial Precinct Assemblies for each Precinct within its boundaries. All initial Precinct Assemblies shall occur in the first February of an even-numbered year which is not less than six months after the ratification of this amendment. Precinct Assemblies should be set for staggered dates to avoid interruption of commerce. Attendance at one’s Precinct Assembly shall be considered civic duty, and no person shall be expected to work on the date of his or her Precinct’s Assembly, and cannot be terminated or otherwise punished for missing work on these days.
Any voting resident may designate any other voting resident as proxy, and be excused from the remainder of the Assembly. Non-citizens and minors who are resident in a Precinct may also attend the Assembly, and may request the right to participate fully, and may be allowed to do so upon approval of 2/3 of the voting residents.
In the first session of the Precinct Assemblies, and once every two years thereafter, the Precinct Assemblies shall elect six delegates to the Ward Assembly with each member casting a Single Transferable Vote. Each of these delegates shall carry with them the number of votes received as proxies.
The Ward Assemblies will elect delegates to District Assemblies, which in turn will elect the Canton Assemblies, which will choose the State Assemblies, which will choose the delegates to the Federal Assembly, which shall continue to be called the House of Representatives. At all intermediate assembly levels, the election of delegates shall precede all legislative business, and where pertinent, those delegates not elected to the graduated assemblies shall remain as the governmental body of the relevant jurisdiction. Each such delegate will serve a two-year term, and cannot be elected again to any office for four years after the end of that term. Thus a person may serve a maximum of two years in any six year period.
If an existing township, village, town, city, or county has identical boundaries as a Precinct, Ward, District, or Canton, then the Assembly for that jurisdiction shall become the legislative body for it, and the Assemblies any subdivisions thereof will not have legislative powers beyond choosing the measures which are passed to the next Assembly. If a city contains multiple Cantons, then the Assemblies of each of these Cantons will elect not less than four nor more than eight delegates to the City Assembly, which shall be the legislative body for that city. No such City Assembly shall have fewer than 14 nor more than 30 delegates. When the boundaries of previous governmental bodies do not coincide with the new designations, the state legislature shall determine which Assemblies shall serve as legislative bodies for the local areas within it.
Each State Assembly shall establish a measure in accord with that state’s existing constitution to amend that constitution to reflect this method of electing its legislature, and city charters should be amended to reflect this method of choosing their governments. States which desire to retain a bicameral legislature may do so, but must amend their constitution to show that one house will be elected in this manner, and must describe how the other house shall be chosen.
Section 3: The Senate
Senators shall be elected in a statewide popular votes every four years, in years divisible by four. Each State shall elect three Senators by Single Transferable Vote.
The Senate shall have the task of selecting the members of the Secretariats* of the Executive Departments, to oversee the operations of those Executive Departments, including the Secretariats, and reviewing any legislation passed by The House of Representatives.
* note: if Amendment C: The Abolition of the Office of President and Creation of the Executive Secretariats has not been ratified, all mentions of Secretariats shall refer to the Secretaries of the Executive Departments heretofore appointed by the President.
Secretaries (or Secretariat members) selected by the Senate must be confirmed by the House of Representatives.
In duties of oversight of the Executive, the Senate may overturn any policy created through Executive action, subject to approval by the House. The Senate may recommend to the House the removal of any member of the Executive from office.
In reviewing legislation, each Senator may vote acceptable, unwise, unjust, or unconstitutional. If no Senator votes acceptable, that shall be considered a veto, and the bill shall be returned to the House for revisions. If any determination receives a majority of votes, that shall be the Senate’s declaration in regard to that measure. If no majority exists, the Senate’s declaration shall be “divided.”
Section 4: The Legislative Process
All Federal legislation must be introduced in Precinct Assemblies. Any legislation which passes in a Precinct Assembly shall be referred to the relevant Ward Assembly. Likewise bills and resolutions passed in one Assembly shall progress to the next relevant Assembly, from Ward to District to Canton to State to Federal.
In the Federal Assembly, any measure which receives less than a majority of proxy votes shall have failed, and any measure which receives a 2/3 majority shall be considered passed. Any measure which shall receive at least a majority but less than 2/3 must be referred to a Compromise Committee.
Any measure which passes the House of Representatives will be referred to the Senate. The Senate shall declare each such measure acceptable, unwise, unjust, or unconstitutional, or without a majority, may declare itself “divided” on the measure, or if no Senator votes acceptable, it shall be considered a veto, and returned to the House for revision.
Each November the Precinct Assemblies shall convene to ratify the measures passed by the House. Any measure deemed acceptable by the Senate must be passed by majorities in a majority of Precincts AND receive a majority of the total popular vote. A measure upon which the Senate is divided shall require majorities in 2/3 of Precincts or by 2/3 in a majority of Precincts AND a 3/5 majority of the popular vote. A measure deemed unwise by the Senate will become law only if it passes by 2/3 majority in 2/3 of all Precincts AND 2/3 of the popular vote. A measure declared unjust by the Senate will become law only if passed by a 2/3 majority in 3/4 of Precincts or by 3/4 majority in 2/3 of all Precincts AND 2/3 of the popular vote in two consecutive years. Any measure deemed unconstitutional by the Senate shall become law only if it passes by a 3/4 majority in 3/4 of Precincts AND 3/4 of the popular vote in three consecutive years.
Recall of Federal Officials
If the People of the Nation shall express the desire to recall any member of the Executive, they may submit to the House a Petition of 15% of the electorate to that effect. Upon such submission, Congress shall call a special session of the Precinct Assemblies. If the motion to recall shall receive less than a majority of the popular vote, it shall have failed, and the official’s term shall continue, and no other such petitions may be brought forth against that person for one year. If it shall receive majorities in at least a majority of Precincts and 2/3 of the popular vote, it shall have passed and the official shall be immediately recalled, and the office shall be filled as specified elsewhere in this Constitution. However, if the motion to recall shall receive at least a majority but less than 2/3 of the popular vote, then that person shall remain in office until that seat can be filled as specified by this constitution, and that same person may be considered for that office, but in any case, the term of office shall conclude on the date that person would otherwise have completed it, and all laws regarding term limits shall apply as normal.
Amendment C: Abolition of the Office of President and Creation of the Council of Executive Secretariats
(replacing Article II)
Section 1: Selection Process
Upon ratification of this amendment, Article II shall be stricken and replaced with the following:
The Executive power of the United States shall be divided among the several departments, and shall be under the control of, and accountable to, the people by direct action or by the actions of Congress.
Each department of the federal executive shall be directly governed by a departmental secretariat committee, composed of six members each, chosen in odd-numbered years by the House and Senate according to the following procedures:
Persons interested in serving in any federal executive Secretariat committee shall apply with a standardized application. Of those who apply, sixty shall be chosen by a publicly accessible and televised random lottery drawing. Those sixty applications shall then be reviewed by a House Committee on oversight of the pertinent department, and that Committee shall narrow the field to thirty candidates. These candidates shall then be interviewed in public session by the Senate Committee of oversight of the pertinent department. That Committee shall then narrow the field to twelve. Then, a second public lottery shall be drawn to determine the six members of the Secretariat.
The salary of the Secretariats shall be determined by the House at the end of each year
Section 2 – Powers and Limitations of the Secretariats
Each Secretariat shall have power only over its specific department, and shall be subject to oversight by Congressional Committees of both Houses, and subject to recall by Congress or by the people.
Joint Committees made up of the members of two or more Secretariats may be formed by the House as needed, but shall be dissolved upon completion of its given mission.
All decisions involving the coordination of the executive branch as a whole shall be made by the Council of Secretariats, which shall consist of all members of the various executive Secretariats. All decisions of the Council of Secretariats are subject to the approval of the House and Senate Joint Executive Oversight Committee, except those actions which may qualify as emergencies, in which case, the Joint Executive Oversight Committee must approve or veto the decision within ten days, and if vetoed, the execution of the action(s) must be terminated, and the Council must establish a new course of action.
The members of the Secretariat which governs the Department of Defense shall rotate the duty of Commander-In-Chief each trimester.
No person may serve two consecutive terms in the same Secretariat, nor may any person serve more than two terms consecutively in any Secretariat.
Amendment D: The Federal Judiciary
Section 1: The number and composition of the Courts
There shall be five High Courts, two of which shall hear exclusively final appeals in civil cases, two which shall hear exclusively final appeals in criminal cases, and one which shall handle final appeals in all other matters of law. Each High Court shall have seven judges.
There shall be Nine Federal Circuit Courts, and each of these shall have five judges. State, Canton, and District Courts shall each have three judges.
Section 2: The Selection of Judges
Judges shall be appointed by State Assemblies to serve in all lower Courts, and will be promoted from State Courts to federal Circuit Courts by agreement of the Judiciary Committees of the House and Senate. Judges for the High Courts shall be selected from the Circuit Courts by the House of Representatives, and seated upon confirmation by the Senate.
Section 3: Constitutionality Issues
If a High Court finds a statute to be unconstitutional as a direct result of an appeals case, that case must be suspended pending a special hearing of that law by the Senate. If the Senate had declared that law to be unconstitutional upon its initial passage, but that declaration overridden by the will of the people, and if the Senate again declares it unconstitutional, then the court case must be dismissed, and the House must reconsider the legislation, taking into account the advice and recommendations of the Senate and the High Court.
If the Senate did not initially find the statute to be unconstitutional, but then agrees with the Court’s determination, then the House must either:
1. concur that the law is unconstitutional and repeal it;
2. concur that the law is unconstitutional and amend it, pending approval by the people; or
3. disagree with the Court and Senate and declare the law constitutional, pending approval by the people.
Section 4: Term of Service
Judges shall serve five-year terms at all levels of the judiciary. District Court Judges may serve two terms in the same Court, then must either be promoted to a Canton or State Court, retire, or seek appointment to a District Court in another State. At all other levels, a Judge may serve no more than one five-year term, and thereafter must either be promoted, retire, or seek appointment to a District Court.
