By NOAH BOWSER

Ensuring RI is a true republic

‘Nobody should tell how an elected official to vote.’

NEWS
Posted 9/21/22

Nathan Cornell, a 25-year-old graduate of Toll Gate High School and member of the Warwick School Committee, is out to change the state’s constitution including a provision to do away with …

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By NOAH BOWSER

Ensuring RI is a true republic

‘Nobody should tell how an elected official to vote.’

Posted

Nathan Cornell, a 25-year-old graduate of Toll Gate High School and member of the Warwick School Committee, is out to change the state’s constitution including a provision to do away with legislative leaders.

The undergraduate student at University of Rhode Island has compiled a list of nine Rhode Island constitutional amendments  to “…ensure a true republic in Rhode Island.”

In a recent  interview, Cornell said, “the way I see it, it’s just not democratic how the system operates.” He points to multiple undemocratic influences on the political machinery of Rhode Island’s state government. Among them are: the state Board of Canvassers, as well as party majority leaders, party minority leaders, and whips.

“I’m also proposing that we abolish majority leaders, minority leaders, and whips. It’s my belief that nobody should be able to tell an elected official how to vote other than the constituents who voted for them. Nobody should have to feel pressured to vote in a certain way or not vote in a certain way,” he said.

 In regards to the Board of Canvassers, Cornell claims it should be a non-partisan office. Cornell’s view of curtailing all non-voter influences on the Rhode Island state government extends to the state Board of Elections, of which he said, “an election official shouldn’t be part of a political party because they can be biased in making their decisions.”

Cornell summed up the aims of his proposed Constitutional Amendments in the following principles, stated in a letter to the editor of the Warwick Beacon:

  1. “That no individual or small group of individuals has the right to decide which laws are passed or not passed in the General Assembly, nor should they have the right to prevent a legislator’s bill proposal from becoming a bill and given a hearing in committee.”
  2. “That no individual, political party, or organization has the right to tell legislators and other elected officials how to vote except for the constituents that legislator or elected official represents.”
  3. “That no political party should control elections, nor should any partisan hold any office involved in conducting elections.”
  4. “That it should be prohibited for a legislator or any elected official to receive any contributions from lobbyists, corporations, or interest groups. No elected official’s vote should reflect monetary incentives which today often takes priority over the interests of their constituents.”

While Cornell’s thoughts on constitutional amendments are unique in how large-scale they are, amending the constitution is not a novel endeavor. In fact, since 2006 the state constitution has been amended five times. The extent of the amendments Cornell recommends is the factor that goes beyond the scope of what has been done in the past. Cornell discussed the tide altering impact of what he aims to accomplish, mentioning how the proposed amendments could lessen the supremacy and reach of the two-party system. He says, “in the end, it could hurt the party system but people feel disenfranchised and [our state government structure] is borderline despotic in Rhode Island.” For Cornell, the two-party system taking a punch is just a byproduct of working towards “…creating a true republic in Rhode Island – one that doesn’t benefit one of the parties but benefits the people of Rhode Island.”

Might this alter the two-party system?

To this potential quandary, Cornell replies, “I believe that we should teach each issue individually based on its own merit. Because we have one party against the other, people just hate each other based on that - just because of that very thing and not because of the issues at hand.”

Although Cornell seeks to alter the state constitution with major addendums, he drives home his support of constitutions as a cornerstone of American democracy, saying “while I recommend amendments to the state constitution, I am not attacking the state constitution. The constitutions are some of our greatest documents. They create a Republican form of government. I want to add to the constitution because all of these houses and party machineries that are present create despotism where it shouldn’t exist.”

Cornell sees changes to the state constitution as  “…empower(ing) conservatives, liberals, and moderates to accomplish their goals because people on all sides of the aisle believe this should be a republic and that no despotism should exist in Rhode Island.” He drives home the bipartisan nature of these changes and their mutually beneficial nature by saying, “this is for all Rhode Islanders and not just those belonging to a certain political party or group.”

Cornell aims to have a state representative or senator introduce the amendments to the General Assembly.

He describes this next step, saying “I have to find someone with the courage to put these out there.” Given the large scale of the proposals, Cornell describes potential barriers to a representative or senator expressing support for the proposals.

He says, “I personally know people in the General Assembly that don’t like how it is and they only go on with it because they’re afraid they’ll lose their status if they oppose current leadership.” Despite some evident barriers to moving these proposals forward, Cornell expresses confidence, stating “I just feel like the time is right. Throughout the country partisanship is splitting our country apart. The answer isn’t more partisanship. It’s less.”


The following Constitutional Amendments shall reflect these principles.

  1. That no individual or small group of individuals has the right to decide which laws are passed or not passed in the General Assembly, nor should they have the right to prevent a legislator’s bill proposal from becoming a bill and given a hearing in committee.
  2. That no individual, political party, or organization has the right to tell legislators and other elected officials how to vote except for the constituents that legislator or elected official represents.
  3. That no political party should control elections, nor should any partisan hold any office involved in conducting elections.
  4. That it should be prohibited for a legislator or any elected official to receive any contributions from lobbyists, corporations, or interest groups. No elected official’s vote should reflect monetary incentives which today often takes priority over the interests of their constituents.

In accordance with these principles to ensure a true republic and representative democracy in Rhode Island which is guaranteed by Article IV Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, I am proposing the following Amendments to the Rhode Island State Constitution as well as explanations for why they are needed.

  1. Proposed Article VI Section 23. Powers and limitations of the speaker of the house and the president of the senate.

The speaker of the house shall be a non-partisan office, elected by majority vote of the house of representatives through a secret ballot, and once elected, the speaker is required to break-off membership to their original political party. The role of the speaker shall be to preside over sessions of the house of representatives, to enforce parliamentary procedure, and to nominate committee members and officers with the consent of the house of representatives. The speaker is prohibited from ejecting members and officers from committees. Only the house of representatives by majority vote can eject members and officers from committees if there is probable cause to do so. The speaker is further prohibited from preventing bills from being introduced and refusing to allow bills to be heard in committee. No other powers or presumed powers shall be held by the speaker of the house. All other legislative powers shall be vested in the general assembly.

The president of the senate shall be a non-partisan office, elected by majority vote of the senate through a secret ballot, and once elected, the president is required to break-off membership to their original political party. The role of the president of the senate shall be to preside over sessions of the senate, to enforce parliamentary procedure, and to nominate committee members and officers with the consent of the senate. The president of the senate is prohibited from ejecting members and officers from committees. Only the senate by majority vote can eject members and officers from committees if there is probable cause to do so. The president of the senate is further prohibited from preventing bills from being introduced and refusing to allow bills to be heard in committee. No other powers or presumed powers shall be held by the president of the senate. All other legislative powers shall be vested in the general assembly.

The speaker of the house and the president of the senate shall have no authority over which bills are passed or not passed in a committee of the house of representatives or the senate, nor shall such authority be solely vested in the committee chairpersons.

(Purpose of Amendment- To prevent the Speaker and Senate President from becoming dictatorial positions which is the case today. The final section is to make sure the Speaker and Senate President cannot block legislation in committee, nor can committee chairpersons.)

  1. Proposed Article VI Section 24. Prohibition on political party positions in the general assembly.

It shall be prohibited for any senator or representative in the general assembly to hold the position of majority leader, minority leader, deputy majority leader, deputy minority leader, majority whip, minority whip, deputy majority whip, deputy minority whip, or any other political party title used to cement partisan control over the general assembly.

(Purpose of Amendment- With the Speaker and Senate President’s power limited in the first proposed Constitutional Amendment, it is inevitable that the majority leaders will succeed them in becoming the despotic leaders of their legislative body, as is the case with the majority leader in the U.S. Senate. Currently, the majority and minority leaders as well as whips use their unconstitutional powers to control legislators and tell them how to vote. In a true republic, the only people who should be telling legislators how to vote are the constituents they represent.)

  1. Proposed Article II Section 3. Non-partisan blanket primary system and general election system.

The party primary system shall be abolished, and political parties are prohibited from selecting their candidates to appear on the general election ballot. In all elections held by the people for state, city, or town officers, a nonpartisan blanket primary shall be created where all people or candidates will appear on one ballot. The four people or candidates with the most votes in the primary election will have their names placed on the general election ballot. The person or candidate receiving the largest number of votes cast in the general election shall be declared elected.

Political party positions such as ward and district committee officers shall no longer be listed on the ballot or elected in the primary system.

(Purpose of Amendment- This amendment, which is not a new idea, having been adopted in Alaska and California, is to open up primaries to all voters no matter their political affiliation. Therefore, it will be the voters, not the political parties, deciding the candidates in the General Election. People could still be listed on the ballot by their party, but the top four candidates as decided by the voters could be from any party or no party. Therefore, the primaries would be controlled by the people, not political parties, which is important because many races are decided in primaries. Regarding ward and district committee officers which are exclusively partisan positions with no legal power, political parties can hold such elections amongst themselves like nonprofits and associations. Those positions do not need to be decided in state sanctioned elections.)

  1. Proposed Article II Section 4. Electors for president and vice president of the United States.

The electors for president and vice president of the United States shall be chosen by the general assembly. The electors’ votes shall go to the presidential and vice presidential candidates with the most number of votes in the general election.

(Purpose of Amendment- This is to ensure the Presidential Electors vote according to the will of the people. It will also make it that the Electors are chosen by the people’s elected representatives and not directly by the political parties, which is the case today.)

  1. Proposed Article III Section 9. Prohibition on elected officials from being officers of political party committees.

No person holding any office under the government of Rhode Island or of its cities and towns shall, after election and engagement, be an officer of a political party committee.

(Purpose of Amendment- This is to make sure that there is no conflict of interest between the responsibilities elected officials have to their constituents versus the duties partisan officers have to their respective political party.)

  1. Proposed Article IV Section 11. Prohibition on campaign contributions from corporations, political party committees, non-profit organizations, unions, and business entities.

It shall be prohibited for candidates for election to state and local office in any primary, general or special election to receive contributions from any corporation, political party committee, non-profit organization, union, or business entity.

Political action committees are prohibited.

Individual contributions over one hundred dollars in a calendar year are prohibited.

Candidate contributions over five hundred dollars in a calendar year are prohibited.

(Purpose of Amendment- To prevent elected officials from being influenced by corporations, lobbyists, political party committees, organizations, and interest groups, for the money they might receive from them when voting on legislation.)

  1. Proposed Article IV Section 12. Requirement for the secretary of state to be a non-partisan office.

The office of secretary of state shall be a non-partisan office. Candidates running for secretary of state shall be listed as non-partisan on the ballot.

(Purpose of Amendment- The Secretary of State oversees elections, so to prevent a conflict of interest which could arise with a Secretary of State being affiliated with one political party or another, the Secretary of State should be a non-partisan office so they can be impartial in elections.)

  1. Proposed Article IV Section 13. Independent redistricting commission created to oversee electoral redistricting.

All state electoral redistricting shall be exercised by a non-partisan redistricting commission, independent from the general assembly, to be appointed by the secretary of state. Henceforth, the general assembly shall no longer have any authority over electoral redistricting. The members of the redistricting commission shall not have been affiliated with a political party for at least five years before being appointed to their positions.

(Purpose of Amendment- This proposed amendment would end gerrymandering which has been a big problem in Rhode Island for a long time. Some legislators have even been redistricted out of their own district as political retaliation. That is why redistricting should be in the hands of a non-partisan Redistricting Commission, like in Arizona, which would be impartial in their decisions.)

  1. Proposed Article IV Section 14. Requirement for boards of canvassers to be non-partisan.

All boards of canvassers for the cities and towns of Rhode Island shall be non-partisan, and it shall be prohibited for any person serving on a board of canvassers to be appointed from lists provided by political parties. People serving as members of boards of canvassers shall not have been affiliated with a political party for at least five years before being appointed to their positions.

(Purpose of Amendment- Currently, many boards of canvassers in the state including Providence, Cranston, and Warwick, appoint the board members from lists provided by political parties. Therefore, there will always be one political party dominating the board which is a conflict of interest. By making the whole board non-partisan, this will eliminate this conflict and remove partisan control over local elections.)

While these Constitutional Amendments would involve a lot of changes, they are necessary to ensure a true republic in Rhode Island. If we adopt all these amendments, Rhode Island will be the truest republic and representative democracy in the nation as well as in the world. We could be a model to other states and to our own Federal Government who have given power to control our government to

those who have no constitutional right to wield that power. The U.S. Constitution is one of the greatest documents ever written. We should abide by it.


Nathan Cornell

republic, voting

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