New Constitution (Proposal)

• Table of Contents

  • Preamble
  • Part I — Principles of Government
    • Article 1 — Purpose of Government
      • Section 1 — Core Purpose
      • Section 2 — Adaptation of Methods
      • Section 3 — Permanence of Purpose
  • Part II — Power of the People
    • Article 3 — Revocation Votes
      • Section 1 — Purpose
      • Section 2 — Eligibility
      • Section 3 — Voting Age
      • Section 4 — Offices Subject to Revocation Votes
      • Section 5 — Ballot Structure
      • Section 6 — Revocation Vote Options
      • Section 7 — Vote Counting
      • Section 8 — Finality of Results
      • Section 9 — Federal Thresholds
      • Section 10 — State and Local Thresholds (More Than 1000 Voters)
      • Section 11 — State and Local Thresholds (100–999 Voters)
      • Section 12 — State and Local Thresholds (Less Than 100 Voters)
      • Section 13 — Amendments
    • Article 4 — Civic Education and Responsibility
      • Section 1 — Right to Civic Knowledge
      • Section 2 — Civic Education
      • Section 3 — Neutral Instruction
      • Section 4 — Civic Responsibility
    • Article 5 — Citizen Feedback
      • Section 1 — Purpose
      • Section 2 — Complaint Submissions
      • Section 3 — Open-Ended Feedback
      • Section 4 — Submission Process
      • Section 5 — Universal Distribution
      • Section 6 — Public Availability
      • Section 7 — Legislator Obligations
      • Section 8 — Anonymity
  • Part III — Political Communication and Elections
    • Article 6 — Political Speech
      • Section 1 — Individual Political Speech
      • Section 2 — Organizational Political Speech
      • Section 3 — Election Silence Period
      • Section 4 — Exceptions
      • Section 5 — Challenges
    • Article 7 — Full Ballot Eligibility
      • Section 1 — Purpose
      • Section 2 — Platform Freeze
      • Section 3 — Citizen Question Panel
      • Section 4 — Ballot Eligibility Test
      • Section 5 — Ballot Assignment
      • Section 6 — Amendments
      • Section 7 — Effect of Removal
    • Article 8 — Campaign Structure
      • Section 1 — Public Campaign Funding
      • Section 2 — Official Election Platform
      • Section 3 — Campaign Advertising
      • Section 4 — Platform Governance
      • Section 5 — Platform Neutrality
      • Section 6 — Public Questions
      • Section 7 — Public Engagement
      • Section 8 — Importance of Platform Oversight
  • Part IV — Limits on State Power
    • Article 9 — Prohibition of Capital Punishment
      • Section 1 — Ban on Execution
      • Section 2 — Purpose of the Ban
    • Article 10 — Government Use of Lethal Force
      • Section 1 — Limited Authorization
      • Section 2 — Required Conditions
      • Section 3 — Professional Consequences
      • Section 4 — Mandatory Investigations

• Preamble

  In a perfect world, governments would not exist. A government has the power to force people to act, and that power can lead to violence or harm. Because of this, government should exist only as a necessary compromise. Government exists to balance the freedom of each person with the freedom of everyone else. It acts as a last resort when people cannot solve problems themselves. It protects people from the worst actions of others. For this reason, the government must have authority above any one person. But it must always remain below the people as a whole. This Constitution is designed so that the government cannot free itself from serving the people. Its structure and rules keep it under the control of the public.

• Part I — Principles of Government

  • Article 1 — Purpose of Government

    • Section 1 — Core Purpose

      The main purpose of government is to increase:
      • Individual freedom
      • Opportunity to improve one’s life
      • The happiness and well-being of all people

    • Section 2 — Adaptation of Methods

      The exact methods used to achieve these goals may be discussed and improved over time. New methods may be added to this document.

    • Section 3 — Permanence of Purpose

      The core purpose described in this Article cannot be changed or amended.

  • Article 2 — Freedom and Security

    • Section 1 — Balance of Freedom

      Freedom must be balanced with the right of every person to be safe and secure. The freedom of one group cannot come at the cost of the safety of another group.

    • Section 2 — Prohibition of Slavery

      All forms of slavery are forbidden.

    • Section 3 — Limits on Exploitation

      Exploitation of others must be strictly limited. The inability to exploit others is not considered harm. The inability to gain unlimited wealth without limits is not considered harm.

    • Section 4 — Permanence

      This Article cannot be changed or amended.

• Part II — Power of the People

  • Article 3 — Revocation Votes

    • Section 1 — Purpose

      Revocation Votes exist so that citizens may remove or punish public officials who abuse their authority. Officials who are merely incompetent should face removal or temporary bans from office. Officials who take part in corruption or actions against the public interest should face stronger punishment, including prison.

    • Section 2 — Eligibility

      All citizens who reach the required age are automatically allowed to take part in Revocation Votes. There shall be no additional requirements for participation.

    • Section 3 — Revocation Voting Age

      The voting age for Revocation Votes is 18 years old. This age may not be raised above 18 years old.

    • Section 4 — Offices Subject to Revocation Votes

      Revocation Votes apply to:
      • All elected public offices at the federal, state, and local levels
      • The highest federal and state court positions
      • The highest leadership positions of federal agencies
      • The commander of the military, or the current equivalent If an office is normally filled by appointment and not by election, an Revocation Vote must still occur every four years, beginning two years after the ratification of this Constitution.

    • Section 5 — Ballot Structure

      Whenever elections are held for public office, citizens will also receive materials for Revocation Votes. Eligible voters will receive a combined ballot that includes:
      • votes for candidates
      • Revocation Votes about current office holders
      • Write-in Revocation Votes for past office holders The Revocation Vote about an incumbent must appear near the vote for the next office holder. All revocation votes for offices that are appointed rather than elected must appear in a group at the beginning of the ballot. The name of the current office holder must be clearly shown. Spaces must also be provided for voters to write in past office holders they wish to judge. Citizens eligible only for Revocation Votes will receive a ballot containing only Revocation Votes, arranged in the same order as they appear on the combined ballot.

    • Section 6 — Revocation Vote Options

      • No Confidence — Remove from office The voter believes the candidate is not competent or capable of serving the people. There is no reason the believe the candidate did anything wrong, they are simply not up to the task.
      • No Confidence (5-year ban) — Remove and ban from office for 5 years The voter believes the candidate is incompetent to the point that seperating them from politics for a period of five years is necessary.
      • Actively Detrimental — Remove and ban from office for 15 years The voter believes the candidate is incompetent and harmful to the public. The voter believes the candidate is not capable of serving the people. There is no evidence to suggest the candidate did anything wrong, they are simply not up to the task and should be kept far away from politics.
      • Actively Hostile — Remove and ban from office indefinitely The voter believes the candidate is harmful to the public either through incompetence or direct harm. There is not enough evidence to be sure if the candidate did anything wrong, but enough doubt exists and harms are real enough to warrant keeping them far away from politics permanently.
      • Treasonous or Corrupt — 15 years imprisonment and permanent ban from public office The voter believes the candidate has committed treason or actively engaged in corruption. This demonstrates a complete lack of integrity and abuse of the power the people lent to the government. The condidate should be removed permenantly and imprisoned for 15 years.

    • Section 7 — Vote Counting

      Revocation Votes are counted as a percentage of all eligible Revocation voters, not only those who voted. If 1,000 people are eligible, the percentages are calculated using all 1,000 people. Selecting a higher option also counts as support for every lower option. Example: A vote for 5 also counts as votes for 4, 3, 2, and 1. The highest option that reaches its required percentage becomes the final outcome. If no option reaches its required percentage, no action is taken.

    • Section 8 — Finality of Results

      The outcome of an Revocation Vote:
      • cannot be changed
      • cannot be delayed
      • cannot be pardoned Public officials hold the future of the people in their hands. Because of this, the people hold the future of those officials in their collective hands.

    • Section 9 — Federal Thresholds

      Option	Minimum Percentage
      1	51%
      2	55%
      3	65%
      4	70%
      5	85%

    • Section 10 — State and Local Thresholds (More Than 1000 Voters)

      Option	Minimum Percentage
      1	55%
      2	60%
      3	68%
      4	72%
      5	89%

    • Section 11 — State and Local Thresholds (100–999 Voters)

      Option	Minimum Percentage
      1	65%
      2	70%
      3	75%
      4	80%
      5	90%

    • Section 12 — State and Local Thresholds (Less Than 100 Voters)

      Option	Minimum Percentage
      1	70%
      2	72%
      3	75%
      4	85%
      5	100%

    • Section 13 — Amendments

      The percentages in this Article may only be lowered. The age threshold for Revocation Votes may be changed, but not raised above 18 years old. No other changes to this Article may be made.

  • Article 4 — Civic Education and Responsibility

    • Section 1 — Right to Civic Knowledge

      People have both the right and the responsibility to understand how their government works.

    • Section 2 — Civic Education

      Civics education will be freely available to all citizens older than four years of age. School-age children will receive civics education that teaches:
      • their rights
      • the plain reading of this Constitution
      • their responsibilities under this document

    • Section 3 — Neutral Instruction

      Civics education must present factual information only. It must not instruct students on what opinions they should hold. Debates about political opinions should occur between individuals, not as mass instruction.

    • Section 4 — Civic Responsibility

      Citizens are responsible for staying informed about their government. They must monitor government actions and hold officials accountable for abuses of power. Without active civic engagement, bad actors may attempt to manufacture consent for policies that harm the public.

  • Article 5 — Citizen Feedback

    • Section 1 — Purpose

      Citizens who participate in elections invest time and attention in their government. That investment earns them a voice beyond a simple vote. This Article creates a structured mechanism for citizens to communicate directly with every level of their government.

    • Section 2 — Complaint Submissions

      Any citizen eligible to participate in Revocation Votes may submit a complaint as part of the voting process. Complaints shall take the form of a structured poll covering common hardships and grievances. The complaint poll shall present fixed categories and options; it shall not include open-ended fields. The categories and options in the complaint poll shall be reviewed and updated periodically by a process established by law.

    • Section 3 — Open-Ended Feedback

      Citizens who are fully eligible to vote in elections — not only Revocation Votes — may additionally submit open-ended feedback. Open-ended feedback may include:
      • Comments on the state of governance or quality of public services
      • Recommendations for legislation, policy, or reform
      • Any other input the citizen believes is relevant to the public interest There is no required format for open-ended feedback.

    • Section 4 — Submission Process

      Feedback shall be submitted through the same system used for voting. There shall be no additional barriers to submitting feedback beyond those required to verify the citizen’s applicable eligibility. Submitting feedback is optional and shall not affect the validity of a citizen’s vote.

    • Section 5 — Universal Distribution

      All feedback submitted by a citizen shall be delivered to every level of government with jurisdiction over that citizen. This includes, at minimum: the relevant municipality, county, state, and federal bodies. No feedback is directed at any single official or body. Each level of government receives a complete copy of all feedback from the citizens within its jurisdiction. This ensures that every layer of government can observe how its citizens are living, what they are experiencing, and what they believe needs to change. The compiled feedback shall be delivered no later than thirty days after the close of the voting period.

    • Section 6 — Public Availability

      All compiled feedback shall be made publicly available in a searchable and accessible format. Public records of compiled feedback shall be maintained for a minimum of twenty years.

    • Section 7 — Legislator Obligations

      Officials who receive compiled feedback must formally acknowledge receipt. No official may dismiss, destroy, or suppress compiled feedback. Officials are not required to act on individual feedback items, but the compiled record is part of the permanent public account of their tenure.

    • Section 8 — Anonymity

      All feedback is anonymous by default. No identifying information shall be collected, stored, or transmitted alongside any feedback submission. If a citizen includes identifying information within the text of open-ended feedback, that text shall be stored and published as part of the public record without modification.

• Part III — Political Communication and Elections

  • Article 6 — Political Communication and Elections

    • Section 1 — Individual Political Speech

      People have an absolute right to political speech.

    • Section 2 — Organizational Political Speech

      Organizations may participate in political speech, subject to the limits described in this Article.

    • Section 3 — Election Silence Period

      During the 60 days before an election or Revocation Vote, organizations may not promote candidates or argue which candidate should win. This period belongs exclusively to the people.

    • Section 4 — Exceptions

      Exceptions exist for factual reporting concerning:
      • criminal convictions
      • arrests
      • verified misconduct
      • factual explanations of the duties of a public office

    • Section 5 — Challenges

      Improper claims of exemption may be challenged by a public petition containing:
      • 1,000 signatures, or
      • signatures from 25% of eligible voters, whichever is lower. A publicly funded trial will decide the matter using the preponderance of evidence standard. Both attorneys will be randomly selected from licensed attorneys within the jurisdiction. (Additional enforcement provisions to be completed.)

  • Article 7 — Full Ballot Eligibility

    • Section 1 — Purpose

      Voting in elections is both a right and a responsibility. A citizen who has paid no attention to an election can still accurately judge that the current state of affairs is not working for them — and for that judgment, the Revocation Vote and the complaint submission are available to everyone. Selecting candidates to hold office requires a basic familiarity with what those candidates claim they will do. This Article establishes the minimum standard for a citizen to receive a full ballot, and ensures that standard remains as low as it can reasonably be.

    • Section 2 — Platform Freeze

      Forty-five days before any election, the stated positions of all candidates shall be frozen as they appear on the official election platform. No changes to a candidate’s stated positions may be made after the freeze date. The frozen positions shall remain permanently on the public record. They shall serve as a lasting reference against which citizens may measure whether an official honored their stated commitments, including in future Revocation Votes.

    • Section 3 — Citizen Question Panels

      Upon the platform freeze, citizen question panels shall be assembled by lottery to produce the ballot eligibility questions for that election. Panels shall be assembled at the highest level of governance represented in the election, up to the federal legislative district level:
      • For elections that include federal offices, one panel shall be assembled per federal legislative district.
      • For elections that include state offices but no federal offices, one panel shall be assembled per state legislative district.
      • For elections that include only local offices such as municipal or county positions, one panel shall be assembled from the minimally eligible citizens within the affected district or districts. Any person who has reached the minimum age of eligibility under this Constitution may be included in the lottery pool, regardless of whether they are eligible to cast a full ballot. Every person who is eligible to vote in the election in question must be included as a lottery member. The lottery must be designed so that every person in the pool has an equal probability of selection. The pool from which any panel is drawn must contain more than one thousand people. The panel’s sole task is to produce questions about the candidates’ stated positions. Panel members shall produce no more than three questions per candidate running within their district. All questions must be answerable directly from the frozen platform text alone. Panel members may not reference outside sources, prior reporting, personal knowledge, or any information not contained in the frozen platform. Questions must be simple and factual. A citizen who reads the relevant platform section for thirty minutes should be able to answer them correctly. The completed question set shall be published and made freely available to the public immediately upon completion.

    • Section 4 — Ballot Eligibility Test

      Before receiving a ballot, a citizen shall be offered a ballot eligibility test. The test shall contain no more than five questions, randomly selected from the full set of questions covering candidates who would appear on that citizen’s full ballot. The test is separate from the ballot. The citizen completes the test first, and then receives the appropriate ballot based on the result. A citizen who answers all questions correctly shall receive a full ballot. A citizen who answers any question incorrectly shall receive a Revocation ballot and shall be eligible to submit a complaint as described in Article 5. A citizen may decline to take the test and shall receive a Revocation ballot. The test shall be available in any language in which the official election platform is available.

    • Section 5 — Ballot Assignment

      The outcome of the eligibility test determines only the type of ballot a citizen receives. It does not limit a citizen’s right to participate in Revocation Votes or complaint submissions. No record shall be kept of how a citizen answered individual test questions, only of the ballot type issued.

    • Section 6 — Amendments

      The requirements of this Article may only be made easier or removed entirely. The number of questions on the eligibility test may be lowered but not raised above five. The panel composition rules, the number of panels, and the method of assigning panels to districts may be changed by amendment. However, no amendment may alter the following minimum requirements for any panel lottery:
      • The pool from which a panel is drawn must contain more than one thousand people.
      • Every person eligible to vote in the election must be included as a lottery member.
      • The lottery must give every member of the pool an equal probability of selection. No amendment may make the eligibility test standard more difficult to meet in any way.

    • Section 7 — Effect of Removal

      If this Article is ever repealed or removed from this Constitution by amendment, every citizen who has reached the minimum voting age shall automatically be entitled to a full ballot without any eligibility test. No law, regulation, or administrative rule may impose a substitute eligibility requirement in its place.

  • Article 8 — Campaign Structure

    • Section 1 — Public Campaign Funding

      All election campaigns shall be publicly funded. Funding may increase only to match general inflation.

    • Section 2 — Official Election Platform

      Every election shall have one official public platform where candidates publish:
      • their policy plans
      • their credentials

    • Section 3 — Campaign Advertising

      Campaigns may not buy or run advertisements. Campaigns may not receive outside funding, including funding from the candidate.

    • Section 4 — Platform Governance

      The election platform will be managed by a five-person council elected by voters. The platform’s responsibilities include:
      • hosting campaign information
      • verifying factual claims such as education and professional experience

    • Section 5 — Platform Neutrality

      The platform shall not contain opinion-based features such as:
      • comment sections
      • reactions
      • ratings of campaigns

    • Section 6 — Public Questions

      The platform may allow citizens to send questions or concerns directly to campaigns.

    • Section 7 — Public Engagement

      Campaign funds may be used for travel, lodging, and food for gatherings with constituents. These events should focus on question-and-answer sessions, not one-way political speeches.

    • Section 8 — Importance of Platform Oversight

      Voters must choose platform council members carefully, as the legitimacy of elections depends on their integrity.

• Part IV — Limits on State Power

  • Article 9 — Prohibition of Capital Punishment

    • Section 1 — Ban on Execution

      The government may not execute individuals. It may not assume an individual wishes to die, nor may it impose a death sentence. The most severe punishment permitted is life imprisonment.

    • Section 2 — Purpose of the Ban

      This prohibition exists to prevent political misuse of criminal punishment, including the targeting of political opponents or innocent citizens.

  • Article 10 — Government Use of Lethal Force

    • Section 1 — Limited Authorization

      Law enforcement may use deadly force only to prevent immediate loss of life or severe injury.

    • Section 2 — Required Conditions

      Deadly force may be used only when:
      • an objective threat exists
      • the threat is immediately usable
      • intent to use the threat is clear Fear alone is not sufficient. Law enforcement is less than a privliedge, it is a duty. Officers who cannot meet this standard are actively harmful to the public trust.

    • Section 3 — Professional Consequences

      If after a deadly force incident, the officer is found to have used deadly force in violation of this Article, he or she must be permanently barred from law enforcement service, regardless of whether there is enough evidence to support a criminal prosecution.

    • Section 4 — Mandatory Investigations

      Every death caused by government actors must be treated as a preventable tragedy. Each case must receive a full investigation, including institutional recommendations designed to prevent similar events in the future. The complete invetigative report must be made public with no redactions. The report must be made available to the public in a searchable and accessible format and maintained for a period of at least 50 years.