Add a Constitutional Amendment for a "Vote of No-Confidence" Against the Executive Branch
The Issue
Amend the U.S. Constitution to Create a “Vote of No-Confidence” Mechanism
To the United States Congress and the 50 State Legislatures:
The United States has one of the greatest democracies of the world, a democracy that is ruled by the People, for the People. However, there are a number of inherent flaws with our current system that need to be addressed. One of which being, there is no mechanism to remove and replace the Executive Branch of government outside of an impeachment. We believe this should change.
A “Vote of No-Confidence” would effectively create an opportunity for the people of the United States to replace a leader whom they believe to be ineffective. This is a practice that many modern democratic governments currently have within their structure. Examples are identified in, but not limited to, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Canada, Japan, Australia and Russia. Additionally, many states here in the United States already have this process for their own locally elected officials.
This vote would have been useful during several points in American history. Harry Truman in 1952 had a 22% approval rating, the lowest in modern history. Richard Nixon in 1974 had a 24% approval rating. George W. Bush in 2008 was at 25%. And Jimmy Carter in 1979 had a 28% approval rating. (Gallup Historical Job Approval Statistics, http://www.gallup.com/poll/116677/presidential-approval-ratings-gallup-historical-statistics-trends.aspx
While the details of such a Constitutional Amendment are better created by those who would propose a ratification that is equal to all people within this country, a few ideas are outlined below based off the U.S. Constitution and other country’s processes.
The proposal of a “Vote of No-Confidence” would begin with at least 1/10 of Congress agreeing that a “Vote of No-Confidence” should be taken. This may only be done one time every 6 months to avoid wasting time better spent legislating.
Once 1/10 of Congress agrees a vote should be taken, a vote is cast on whether Congress is confident in the Executive Branch to continue their job. If 2/3 of Congress agrees with a no-confidence vote, Congress is required to move forward with bringing this process to the People.
Prior to bringing the vote to the People, Congress must select two potential candidates to run in a special election for President of the United States. Each candidate will select their own Vice President to join them. The two candidates must be selected by the top two political parties in Congress based on the number of seats held.
Finally, the vote is brought to the People. The People will then vote on two measures for the special election. The first measure is whether they agree with a no-confidence vote. If they agree, they are to vote on whom to replace the current Executive Branch with. In order for a “Vote of No-Confidence” to be accepted, 2/3 of those voting must agree with the change in the Executive Branch. The replacement is then decided by popular vote and will serve the remainder of the term in which they are replacing.
This would effectively streamline the Executive Branch replacement in an efficient manner, while creating the checks and balances that our government is was created to integrate.
As a note of record, due to the recent political climate here in the United States, this petition would have gone up no matter who was elected President in the 2016 elections. Additionally, this should be created in a manner that actually makes it extremely difficult to be fulfilled until completion, as the changing of the Executive Branch repeatedly can cause issues with continuity of the power of the Executive Branch.
It is time that we the People hold our government more accountable for their actions over the course of their terms in power.
Our goal is to reach 200,000 signatures. If this goal is reached, this petition will be delivered to all members of the United States Congress as well as the legislatures of all 50 states in the United States. Both are the only ones with the power to create a Constitutional Amendment, though a constitutional convention has not occurred since 1787.
The Issue
Amend the U.S. Constitution to Create a “Vote of No-Confidence” Mechanism
To the United States Congress and the 50 State Legislatures:
The United States has one of the greatest democracies of the world, a democracy that is ruled by the People, for the People. However, there are a number of inherent flaws with our current system that need to be addressed. One of which being, there is no mechanism to remove and replace the Executive Branch of government outside of an impeachment. We believe this should change.
A “Vote of No-Confidence” would effectively create an opportunity for the people of the United States to replace a leader whom they believe to be ineffective. This is a practice that many modern democratic governments currently have within their structure. Examples are identified in, but not limited to, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Canada, Japan, Australia and Russia. Additionally, many states here in the United States already have this process for their own locally elected officials.
This vote would have been useful during several points in American history. Harry Truman in 1952 had a 22% approval rating, the lowest in modern history. Richard Nixon in 1974 had a 24% approval rating. George W. Bush in 2008 was at 25%. And Jimmy Carter in 1979 had a 28% approval rating. (Gallup Historical Job Approval Statistics, http://www.gallup.com/poll/116677/presidential-approval-ratings-gallup-historical-statistics-trends.aspx
While the details of such a Constitutional Amendment are better created by those who would propose a ratification that is equal to all people within this country, a few ideas are outlined below based off the U.S. Constitution and other country’s processes.
The proposal of a “Vote of No-Confidence” would begin with at least 1/10 of Congress agreeing that a “Vote of No-Confidence” should be taken. This may only be done one time every 6 months to avoid wasting time better spent legislating.
Once 1/10 of Congress agrees a vote should be taken, a vote is cast on whether Congress is confident in the Executive Branch to continue their job. If 2/3 of Congress agrees with a no-confidence vote, Congress is required to move forward with bringing this process to the People.
Prior to bringing the vote to the People, Congress must select two potential candidates to run in a special election for President of the United States. Each candidate will select their own Vice President to join them. The two candidates must be selected by the top two political parties in Congress based on the number of seats held.
Finally, the vote is brought to the People. The People will then vote on two measures for the special election. The first measure is whether they agree with a no-confidence vote. If they agree, they are to vote on whom to replace the current Executive Branch with. In order for a “Vote of No-Confidence” to be accepted, 2/3 of those voting must agree with the change in the Executive Branch. The replacement is then decided by popular vote and will serve the remainder of the term in which they are replacing.
This would effectively streamline the Executive Branch replacement in an efficient manner, while creating the checks and balances that our government is was created to integrate.
As a note of record, due to the recent political climate here in the United States, this petition would have gone up no matter who was elected President in the 2016 elections. Additionally, this should be created in a manner that actually makes it extremely difficult to be fulfilled until completion, as the changing of the Executive Branch repeatedly can cause issues with continuity of the power of the Executive Branch.
It is time that we the People hold our government more accountable for their actions over the course of their terms in power.
Our goal is to reach 200,000 signatures. If this goal is reached, this petition will be delivered to all members of the United States Congress as well as the legislatures of all 50 states in the United States. Both are the only ones with the power to create a Constitutional Amendment, though a constitutional convention has not occurred since 1787.
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Petition created on December 19, 2016