August 20 Meeting. Our Constitution: Venerate it or rewrite it?

 

The U.S. Constitution stands at the center of today's political controversies. Often, discussions of constitutional crisis are framed as if the alternatives were to venerate the Constitution as if it were set in stone, or to give it a polite nod, and then go ahead and do whatever political expediency calls for.

But there is another alternative: Rewrite it. True, as a practical matter, the procedures for amending our Constitution are daunting. But the the intellectual exercise is nonetheless worthwhile, says Dennis Turner, Professor at the University of Dayton Law School and a member of our own Northport Cracker Barrel. Every year Prof. Turner offers a lifelong learning course that goes far beyond mere amendment of our existing constitution. Instead, he invites participants to write a constitution from scratch for an imaginary brand new country about the size and population of the United States.

On August 20, Prof. Turner will host a scaled-down version of his course at our regular monthly meeting here in Northport. Obviously we won't be able to cover everything, but here are three key topics that will be on the agenda:

• How to vote? The pros and cons of ranked-choice voting.
• Redistricting and gerrymandering.
• How to select our judges?

Here are some relevant background readings, starting with Prof. Turner's own description of his course:

• Writing a Constitution for a Brand-New Country. (Dennis Turner)
• Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center (Website with many links)
• Ranked Choice Voting Initiative for Michigan (Michigan Advance)
• Independent Redistricting Commissions (Campaign Legal Center)
• Elected vs. Appointed Judges (U. Chicago Center for Effective Government)

Please feel free to add your own comments or reading recommendations in the box below!