A Constitution for a Future Republic of America
Harlei Morency presents a draft constitution for a mixed presidential parliamentary system
In my first post for the Democratic Constitution Blog, I published a draft constitution for a hypothetical presidential republic that could replace our current system. For my second post, I published a draft constitution for a parliamentary republic. I haven't published a draft constitution that combines a presidential system with a parliamentary system. This is my attempt to do that. I'm agnostic as to which system is better. I'm really concerned with the basics: universal and equal suffrage for all adult residents and citizens and a unicameral legislature elected by proportional representation. All three of the draft constitutions achieve that.
Article One: The Structure of the Republic of America
Section One: The Republic of America will be a Unitary State, with its administrative capital in Washington, D.C., and the ultimate political authority of the Republic resting in the Central Government of the Republic of America with subnational units’ powers determined by the Central Government of the Republic of America.
The Law of the Republic of America will be the supreme law of the land, and no rule, law, or custom in any of its inhabited territories will undermine or supersede it.
Article Two: The Executive Branch
Section One: The Republic of America will have a President serving as the head of state of the Republic of America who will be elected by popular vote for a term not exceeding four years in office.
The President of the Republic of America will be elected by an absolute majority of votes cast. If such a majority is not obtained in the first round of voting, a second round of voting will take place on the twenty-eighth day thereafter. Only the two candidates garnering the greatest number of votes in the first round may run in the second round.
There will be no limits to how long a President may serve as President.
Section Two: The Republic of America will have a First Secretary appointed by the President who will serve as the head of government of the Republic and will lead the Cabinet of the Republic.
There will be no limits as to how long a First Secretary may serve as First Secretary.
Section Three: The President, First Secretary, and members of the Cabinet of the Republic of America must each be citizens of the Republic of America over the age of sixteen years.
Section Four: The President of the Republic of America will have the power to dissolve the American National Assembly after consultation with the Speaker of the American National Assembly and the First Secretary, to rule by decree during a state of emergency, to issue presidential directives, decrees, determinations, executive orders, proclamations, and administrative orders to manage the operations of the American Government, to appoint cabinet secretaries and other officials, to negotiate treaties, to enforce the laws of the Republic of America, to act as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Republic of America, to consult the American National Assembly for final approval for all uses of military force, and to represent the country in foreign affairs.
A state of emergency granting the President the power to rule by decree will automatically expire ninety days after a state of emergency has been declared and may only be extended by the American National Assembly.
The President of the Republic may not exercise any other powers besides the ones explicitly reserved for him.
Section Five: Whenever the incumbent President does not serve a full four-year term, a snap election to elect a new President will be held no fewer than fifty-six days and no more than eighty-four days after the expiry of the term of the previous President in office.
During the time after the previous President leaves office and before the snap presidential election is held, the First Secretary will temporarily assume the office of President until a new President can be elected.
Section Six: The First Secretary will have the power to call the American National Assembly into session, to propose laws to the American National Assembly, to delegate powers to members of the Cabinet, to direct the Government’s actions, and to ensure the implementation of legislation passed by the American National Assembly.
Section Seven: The President, First Secretary, Cabinet Members, Supreme Court Justices, and all other civil officers of the Republic of America may be removed from office by the American National Assembly through an impeachment process after a conviction for treason, sedition, insurrection, bribery, and all other serious crimes has been approved by the American National Assembly.
The impeachment process will start with an absolute majority of elected members of the American National Assembly voting to open an impeachment inquiry into the civil officer in question.
Next, an impeachment trial will take place in the American National Assembly with the Speaker of the American National Assembly presiding over the trial.
After the impeachment trial, the American National Assembly will take a vote to convict the civil officer in question.
Impeachment will only take effect after at least three-fifths of all of the elected members of the American National Assembly have voted to formally convict and remove the civil officer from office with immediate effect.
While in office, all elected officials and civil officers of the Republic of America will be subject to all civil suits and criminal prosecutions brought against them and can be requested by subpoena to testify under oath under penalty of perjury and produce all requested information to a prosecutor in a criminal proceeding.
Section Eight: In the event that the President is temporarily unable to execute the powers and duties of the American Presidency, through a written declaration to the Speaker of the American National Assembly by the President or by an absolute majority vote of cabinet members, the First Secretary will become the acting President until the powers and duties of the American presidency are able to be returned to the President.
Article Three: The Legislative Branch
Section One: The Republic of America's legislative powers will be vested in a unicameral legislature, the American National Assembly of the Republic of America.
Every citizen of the Republic of America over the age of sixteen years will be eligible to serve as a Deputy.
Section Two: By the first Sunday of October, at least once every four years, the seven hundred members of the American National Assembly will be elected by universal and direct suffrage to serve for a four-year term through an open-list, party proportional representation system using the Largest Remainder Method-Hare Quota to allocate seats to contesting political parties and independent candidates through a system of fifty-six constituencies with each inhabited territory of the Republic of America electing at least one deputy.
Seats will be apportioned to each inhabited territory based on that territory’s population.
Section Three: The legislative session of the American National Assembly will be scheduled to start by noon Eastern Standard Time on the third Monday of October at least once every four years, and every legislative session that follows will start at noon Eastern Standard Time on the first corresponding Monday exactly fourteen days after the election for the American National Assembly has been held.
A legislative session will last for no more than four years at a time before an election for the American National Assembly is to be held unless in cases of clear, imminent emergency.
Section Four: Every candidate for public office in the Republic of America must first sign a legally binding pledge to the American Electoral Commission to respect the election results before the election begins.
If a candidate does not sign this pledge, he will be automatically disqualified from participating in the upcoming election.
Section Five: Any person who engages in acts of sedition, insurrection, treason, or otherwise takes legal actions to subvert the results of a free and fair election held in the Republic of America will be barred from holding public office permanently.
The American National Assembly will be authorized to pass a motion with the support of at least three-fifths of all of the elected members of the American National Assembly to bar the person in question from holding public office permanently.
Section Six: Any deputy may be expelled from the American National Assembly with immediate effect after at least three-fifths of all of the elected members of the American National Assembly vote to expel that deputy.
Any deputy may be censured by the American National Assembly after an absolute majority of the elected members of the American National Assembly vote to censure that deputy.
There will be no limits to how long a deputy may serve.
Section Seven: A vote of no confidence in the government may be called for by any deputy, and if an absolute majority of elected members of the American National Assembly concur with the no-confidence motion, the First Secretary will tender his resignation to the President, the American National Assembly will be dissolved, and a snap election will be held exactly fifty-six days after the dissolution to elect another American National Assembly on the first corresponding Sunday.
Section Eight: The leader of the American National Assembly, known as the Speaker, will be elected by an absolute majority of elected members of the American National Assembly and must also be an elected member of the American National Assembly himself.
If the Speaker does not serve a four-year term, the American National Assembly will be authorized to elect a new Speaker to serve the remainder of the four-year term.
There will otherwise be no limits to how long a Speaker of the American National Assembly may serve as Speaker.
The powers of the Speaker and the organizational structure of the American National Assembly will be determined by all of the elected members of the American National Assembly.
Section Nine: The American National Assembly will have the power to propose laws, edit laws, pass laws, repeal laws, issue pardons and commutations for criminal convictions and extraditions, announce general amnesty, issue moratoriums on deportations within the Republic of America’s borders, levy taxes, pass annual budgets, regulate trade and commerce, approve treaties negotiated by the President, raise and support the Military of the Republic of America, declare a state-of-emergency, approve all uses of military force proposed by the President, declare war, impeach the President, the First Secretary and all other civil officers, and borrow and spend money.
All proposals considered by the American National Assembly will immediately take effect after a final floor vote has been held in which an absolute majority of elected members of the American National Assembly have voted to pass the proposal in question.
A state of emergency may be declared by the American National Assembly before, during, or after instances of civil unrest, natural disaster, armed conflict, or other serious risks to national security.
The Republic of America’s ability to pay its debts will not be questioned, and any attempts to limit the Republic’s ability to issue, borrow, and spend money, such as the debt ceiling or Pay-as-you-go budgeting rules, are hereby abolished.
The Republic of America will never default on its sovereign debts.
Section Ten: The American National Assembly will also approve an annual budget proposed by the President of the Republic of America for the next fiscal year beginning on December thirtieth of said year and ending on December thirty-first of the following year.
If the House does not approve an annual budget by midnight on December thirtieth of the current year, the last approved budget will be in place until a new budget is approved.
The American Government will never again cease to function due to its inability to pass a budget.
Section Eleven: The American National Assembly will have the sole power to establish oversight on the President, the First Secretary, the Cabinet, and all of the other departments and branches of the American Government.
Article Four: The Rights and Responsibilities of the American People.
Section One: In order for a person to be a citizen of the Republic of America, that person must be born on American soil or be otherwise naturalized.
A person will also be a citizen of the Republic if one or more of his relatives is an American citizen.
Every person living in the Republic of America will be entitled to equal protection of the law and the enumerated rights listed in Article Three of the American Constitution.
Women and men, regardless of race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, or gender identity, will enjoy equal rights and hold equal responsibilities throughout the Republic of America and every place subject to its jurisdiction.
Section Two: Every person living in the Republic of America will have the right to freedom of speech, freedom of petition, freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of association, and freedom of assembly.
The Republic of America will be a secular state with a wall of separation between church and state.
No rule, law, or custom that infringes on the rights of any person or people living in the Republic of America to freely practice their religion will be allowed.
The rights of speech, petition, expression, association, and assembly may not be restricted in any way, shape, or form unless in blatant cases of threats of violence.
Section Three: Every person living in the Republic of America will have the right to reasonable self-defense, including the right to keep, bear, and use firearms.
Section Four: Every person over the age of sixteen years living in the Republic of America, as well as every citizen of the Republic of America over the age of sixteen years, will have the right and responsibility to vote in all elections, referendums, initiatives, or recall elections held in their jurisdiction using a universal, secret, direct ballot.
Every citizen of the Republic of America over the age of sixteen years will have the right to run for and hold public office.
Voting in all elections, referendums, initiatives, and recall elections within one’s jurisdiction will be mandatory for all persons over the age of sixteen years living in the Republic of America, as well as for all citizens of the Republic of America over the age of sixteen years.
Any person eligible to vote in a given election, referendum, initiative, or recall election held in their jurisdiction who does not vote or returns a blank, spoiled, or null ballot must pay a one-hundred-dollar fine to the American Electoral Commission.
Section Five: No Government agency will conduct searches or surveillance on any person or group without due process and a written warrant issued by a judge, which may only be issued after probable cause has been established in a court of law, or engage in seizure of personal property without adequate compensation.
Section Six: No person will be tried for the same crime twice, and any person may be charged and face trial at any time for any criminal offense at the location where the crime is alleged to have been committed.
A defendant in a civil or criminal trial will have the right to a speedy, public trial, to be informed of the charges against him, to face a jury of his peers as well as his accusers, to an impartial judge to preside over his trial, to pick an attorney of his choosing to represent him, to face and cross-examine the witnesses testifying against him, to call his own witnesses for his defense, and to appeal a ruling in a civil or criminal case all the way to the Supreme Court.
The defendant shall also have the right to protect himself against self-incrimination in interrogations and cross-examinations.
Section Seven: Cruel and Unusual Punishment for any crime or misdemeanor, such as torture, excessive fines, bail, and forced labor of any kind, such as slavery or indentured servitude, are hereby prohibited.
Article Five: The American Electoral Commission
Section One: The American Electoral Commission will be created as a separate branch of Government upon the ratification of this Constitution to oversee all elections and enforce all election laws.
The director of the American Electoral Commission, being any citizen of the Republic of America over the age of sixteen years, will be appointed by the President.
That person will serve in this position for one twelve-year term.
If that person does not serve his full twelve-year term, the President will appoint a replacement to serve the remainder of the previous twelve-year term.
Section Two: The American Electoral Commission’s responsibilities will be to automatically register all persons over the age of sixteen living in the Republic of America as well as all citizens of the Republic of America over the age of sixteen years to vote, to ensure all eligible persons have the ability to vote in a timely manner, to regulate and oversee all election activities, to count votes in all elections, initiatives, referendums, and recall elections, to certify all election results, to verify signatures for referendums, ballot initiatives, and recall efforts and to enforce all other election laws.
Section Three: Election Day will be scheduled to be held on the first Sunday of October at least once every four years unless a snap election, referendum, initiative, or recall election has been scheduled beforehand.
Every election, referendum, initiative, or recall election in every jurisdiction in the Republic of America will cause a one-day holiday in that jurisdiction.
A presidential election will be held no fewer than fifty-six days and no more than eighty-four days before the expiry of the term of the President in office.
Except in cases of dissolution, general election campaigns start exactly seventy days before the end of the current legislative session of the American National Assembly.
Section Four: All elections, political parties, and political candidates in the Republic of America will be publicly funded and financed with the amount of funding determined solely by all of the elected members of the American National Assembly and divided among all competing political parties and political candidates based on their vote share.
All other sources of funding and financing for political candidates, election campaigns, and political parties in the Republic of America will be strictly prohibited.
Article Six: The Judicial Branch
Section One: The Supreme Court of the Republic of America will have at least twelve justices, each one being a citizen of the Republic of America over the age of sixteen years serving for one twelve-year term, and each justice will be appointed by the President.
Section Two: The Supreme Court will act exclusively as the final word on all civil and criminal trials within the Republic of America’s borders.
Any decision made by the Supreme Court must have the support of at least two-thirds of the Supreme Court Justices.
Their decisions may be overturned by a decision by a future court.
The Supreme Court of the Republic of America may not exercise any other powers besides the ones designated for them, and its previous judicial review powers will be abolished upon the ratification of this Constitution.
Section Three: If a Justice does not serve a full twelve-year term, the President will appoint a new Justice to serve another twelve-year term.
Section Four: The American National Assembly will have the sole power to decide the procedures and customs governing the entirety of the American Judicial System.
Article Seven: The procedures governing future constitutional conventions, amendments, referendums, initiatives, and recalls.
Section One: Any attempt to amend or revise this Constitution through a direct referendum must first have the signatures of at least one-fifth of the American population presented to the American Electoral Commission.
Fifty-six days after those signatures have been verified by the American Electoral Commission, a binding constitutional referendum will be held on the first corresponding Sunday.
A constitutional amendment or revision may also be proposed by the President or by an elected member of the American National Assembly. It must be approved by at least two-thirds of all of the elected members of the American National Assembly to be ratified.
If the proposed amendment or revision in question falls short of the two-thirds threshold but is supported by an absolute majority of elected members of the American National Assembly, a binding referendum will be held in fifty-six days on the first corresponding Sunday to determine the final status of the proposed amendment.
For every twenty-year interval that passes after the ratification of this Constitution, a binding referendum will be held on the first corresponding Sunday in which all persons over the age of sixteen years living in the Republic of America, as well as all citizens over the age of sixteen years of the Republic of America, will be required to vote to decide whether or not to authorize another Constitutional Convention.
If an absolute majority of voters approve of this referendum, the American National Assembly will be brought into session to determine the rules regarding this Convention on the second corresponding Monday after the referendum has been held.
Section Two: Any initiative to change the law of the Republic of America must first have the signatures of at least one-tenth of the American population presented to the American Electoral Commission.
Fifty-six days after those signatures have been verified by the American Electoral Commission, a binding ballot referendum will be held on the first corresponding Sunday.
Section Three: Any attempt to repeal a law passed by the American National Assembly through a popular referendum must first have the signatures of at least one-tenth of the American population presented to the American Electoral Commission.
Fifty-six days after these signatures are verified by the American Electoral Commission, a popular referendum will be held on the first corresponding Sunday.
Section Fourth: Any attempt to recall any elected official in the Republic of America must first have the signatures of at least one-sixth of the jurisdiction’s population that the elected official represents presented to the American Electoral Commission and verified.
Fifty-six days after those signatures have been verified, all persons over the age of sixteen years living in said jurisdiction will vote in a recall referendum held on the first corresponding Sunday.
If an absolute majority of voters in that jurisdiction vote to recall the elected official in question, a replacement candidate must also receive an absolute majority of votes as well.
If a replacement candidate does not receive an absolute majority of votes, the top two performing candidates will face off in a run-off election held twenty-eight days after the first round on the first corresponding Sunday.