The American Spectator

The logistics for a presidential race would be more complicated. In primaries a NOTA victory would yield no delegates, denying support for all contenders and making it more difficult for any candidate to amass a majority to win the nomination. Or NOTA could be backed by a slate of uncommitted delegates — who were legally barred from voting for any candidate who was on the ballot and came in behind NOTA.

As for the general election, a triumph by NOTA should result in a new election by late-December or early January, negating any need to delay the new president’s inauguration. America’s endless presidential electoral season is an international anomaly; parliamentary systems like Great Britain measure their campaign seasons in weeks.

Should NOTA triumph again, a new election should be scheduled within two months and the incumbent would remain in office until his successor was elected. Or, alternatively, the election could be left up to the House of Representatives, should the prospect of such a delay seem unthinkable.

Obviously, the downside of NOTA is increased political instability. However, such instability is a way of life with parliamentary systems. Most also utilize short campaign seasons and short transitions between governments. In Britain, the new prime minister takes over immediately: indeed, the family barely has time to pack before movers are carting away the ousted prime minister’s belongings.

Anyway, the benefits of such a system exceed the costs. Politics today is broken. Neither major party is meeting America’s needs. NOTA would allow voters to punish all the leading contenders if the latter were deemed to be inadequate.

NOTA also would help reverse popular cynicism, since citizens again would have a real choice come election time. No more choosing between two evils, where the best one can say is that one candidate isn’t quite as bad as another.

On Election Day neither party was offering the American people thoughtful and principled leadership. NOTA would allow us to tell both Republicans and Democrats to try again until they get it right.