Election dreams

by Patrick Gannon, The Insider, published in The Greenville Daily Reflector, December 3, 2015.

As I visited with friends and relatives over the Thanksgiving holiday, the topic of conversation often turned to current events, including politics.

The takeaway from those talks had little to do with specific candidates, but more to do with the general state of politics in North Carolina and the United States.

And the consensus was — not good.

Regardless of political affiliation, everyone should agree that candidates and voters have an impact on quality elections.

So here are some hopes and dreams for the elections of 2016, most, if not all, of which have no chance whatsoever of coming to fruition:

Candidate conduct

That favored candidates will agree to publicly debate underdog opponents in all races, from president on down. And that they actually will answer the questions during those debates, rather than regurgitating talking points.

That candidates will focus more on their positive attributes and accomplishments than their opponents’ negative ones.

That the vast majority of political advertisements on television, on websites and on flyers in mailboxes will be positive in tone.

That all candidates will release detailed plans about how they would address major issues facing their potential constituents.

That all candidates will file campaign finance disclosure reports with the N.C. State Board of Elections thoroughly, accurately, electronically and on time so that voters will know as soon as possible how they’re raising and spending campaign dollars.

That all candidates will file statements of economic interest with the State Ethics Commission accurately, thoroughly and on time so that voters will be able to see what economic forces might influence how they would cast votes if elected.

That enough candidates will run so that voters across North Carolina will have choices — more than one candidate — on all of the races on their ballots (write-ins don’t count).

That all victorious candidates will be as accessible and friendly to reporters and constituents as they were during election season.

That no candidate will spend campaign dollars given to them by contributors on personal, non-campaign-related expenses.

That all candidates will have paid all of their taxes by the time they file to run. (Seemingly every election year we read about candidates who owe thousands in back taxes to local, state or federal governments.)

Voter conduct

That all voters will educate themselves about candidates for each race on their ballots. And that they will consult different and diverse sources — television, newspaper, radio, candidate websites, debates and interest groups — to ensure they have somewhat accurate impressions of the candidates.

That every voter will give every candidate a chance at their vote, regardless of political party.

That voters and others won’t forward or share on social media questionable statistics or other information about politics or political candidates until they’ve researched it and determined its veracity.

That every legal voter who wants to vote will do so.

That no North Carolina voter will commit voter fraud in 2016.

Miscellaneous wishes

That an unaffiliated or third party candidate will win a General Assembly seat in North Carolina.

That a General Assembly candidate in a district deemed “strong Democratic” or “strong Republican” will pull off a huge upset.

That all outside groups that spend money on North Carolina races will disclose their donors so voters know who’s paying to help elect the candidates.

That Donald Trump will be out of the presidential picture entirely by Christmas.

Patrick Gannon writes about North Carolina government and politics for the Capitol Press Association.

http://www.reflector.com/opinion/other-voices/gannon-election-dreams-3057281