Americans Elect aims to shake up 2012 election

Either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party has controlled Congress since 1856 and the presidency since 1852.

To combat this, the online organization Americans Elect was formed, dedicated to wresting control of the presidency from polar extremes and handing it back to the political center.

With approximately 2.9 million signatures, Americans Elect will be able to hurdle each state's differing ballot access laws and land on the ballot in all fifty states. This is a feat not to be sneezed at. More often than not, more established parties such as Green, Libertarian or Reform couldn't achieve it.

At press time, the website reported that 2,152,890 signatures had been collected. They are already officially on the ballot in several states, including Florida. California residents alone submitted 1.6 million signatures, the largest petition-gathering effort in the history ofthe state and possibly the country, according to COO Elliot Ackerman.

Americans Elect purports to be non-partisan, insisting on "country before party." It claims that none of its funding comes from special interests or lobbyists. Further, after narrowing their field of "drafted" candidates to six in April, those candidates, if they choose to run, will be required to choose a running mate from a different party than their own if they are themselves affiliated.

Any registered voter, regardless of party affiliation, can sign up to be a delegate and help decide the final candidate in an internet-based convention in June; the first of its kind. Voters can still vote in their registered party's primary, as well.

Due to its novelty, there may be concerns about the accuracy of results. The website maintains that voter registration status will be verified, printable vote confirmations will be available and"an independent, publicly-identified panel of election experts will monitor the process and report publicly on its transparency and security."

As Ackerman put it during an appearance on the Colbert Report, their goal is to "leverage our newest technologies to get us back to some of our oldest values" such as "letting every voter participate in a meaningful way in a primary." He refers in part to the disproportionate affect voters in Iowa and New Hampshire have had on primary elections.

Voters can also contribute to the process earlier on. After registering on the site, they are prompted to prioritize the issues that are most important to them and later to construct and vote on questions for the candidates to answer. Voter participation goes so far as "drafting," or nominating, a constitutionally eligible candidate from among public figures.

A Candidate Certification Committee, elected by the board of directors, determines whether a candidate is ultimately qualified by determining whether they are of "similar stature to our previous presidents." In the group's bylaws is a stipulation whereby a two-thirds majority of delegates can overturn a decision by the Committee, thus providing a check to its power.

Both Republicans and Democrats, haunted by the specters of Ross Perot and Ralph Nader, may view Americans Elect as an insidious plot by the other to draw independent and moderate voters away from them and to "spoil" the election.

The director of the board and father of Elliot Ackerman, Peter Ackerman, has contributed to both parties in the past, as have many of the organization's backers. The advisory board includes both Mark McKinnon, who worked for the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush and John McCain, and Will Marshall, a longtime Democratic activist.

Some may feel that their target is misguided, citing the recent 9 percent approval rating that Congress holds over incumbent President Obama's 46 percent, as well as a system that is built to entrench congressional interests via practices such as gerrymandering.

Others may cite the constitutional provision, which requires that, in the event that a third-party candidate acquires enough votes in the Electoral College, no one candidate compiles a majority (currently 270 votes), the House of Representatives will vote to decide the presidency.

Whatever the outcome, Americans Elect is sure to shake up the 2012 election and perhaps the political landscape of America heading into the future. As the primary system can dissuade highly qualified centrist candidates from seeking election, whomever winds up on the ballot may very well be a viable candidate.

Possible centrist candidates could include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.), former Sens. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.), Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), Bill Bradley (D-N.J.), Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.); former White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles; former Govs. Buddy Roemer of Louisiana and Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey; NBC news anchor Tom Brokaw; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.

For more information, visit americanselect.org.