Recent Publications
2024 Constitution Day Conversation with Jeffrey Rosen: The American Idea, The Fulcrum, September 17, 2024. See next section.
What 106 students just taught us about a constitutional convention, The Fulcrum, June 10, 2024.
Trump vs. the 14th Amendment: Myths and Facts, The Fulcrum, January 10, 2024. Ten reminders to separate myths from facts about the then-pending Supreme Court case on Donald Trump’s eligibility to serve as president.
Holiday Reads: Books to get you beneath and beyond the elections, The Fulcrum, December 7, 2023. Ten books that offer hope and perspective on the future of election reform in the U.S.
2023 Constitution Day conversation with Jamie Raskin: Preserving democracy today and tomorrow, The Fulcrum, Sep 21, 2023. See next section.
We Love the Bill of Rights. Can We Like a Bill of Structures?, Election Law Journal, December 2022 (Vol 21, No. 4). In this article, I present the structural electoral problems that require constitutional amendment—voting, the Electoral College, term lengths and term limits—and propose the four-amendment set that would address them.
Constitution Day ConversationS, September 17, 2024 and 2023
THE AMERICAN IDEA, 2024
Jeffrey Rosen, President & CEO, National Constitution Center
- The complete Constitution Day Conversation is available here.
- An excerpted version was published in The Fulcrum, and is available here.
“The most inspiring memories I have of Constitution Day are without question participating in naturalization ceremonies.... There is never a dry eye in the house when you hear speeches from the most eloquent spokespeople for the American idea — new citizens. It’s just a privilege to participate."
“…[O]ur politics have become extremely polarized and therefore it’s hard to mobilize a consensus even around structural amendments, but politics can change, so there’s no reason to think the Constitution has in fact become unamendable.”
“The Constitution of course is the silver frame around the Declaration’s apple of gold, as Lincoln put it, and it is urgently important for Americans to view these documents’ [250th] anniversaries as part of the same story of freedom and to think about celebrating them together….”
PRESERVING DEMOCRACY TODAY AND TOMORROW, 2023
Jamie Raskin, Representative, U.S. Congress (MD-08)
- The complete Constitution Day Conversation is available here.
- An excerpted version, focusing on electoral and structural aspects, was published in The Fulcrum, and is available here.
"The vast majority of the Amendments we have added since the original ten in the Bill of Rights have been suffrage-expanding and democracy-strengthening amendments. Let's keep the wheels of strong democracy turning."
"We also should build a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right of every citizen to vote. Right now . . . we are working from a patchwork of ad hoc antidiscrimination amendments to try and defend the foundation of our democracy."
“The 250th anniversary of the Constitution should be not only about defending our essential constitutional order, but also about amending the Constitution to keep democracy vibrant and growing in this century.”
The BILL OF STRUCTURES: FAQs
What's in this Bill?
Seriously? Four Amendments?
Seriously? Four Amendments?
Four amendments about constitutional electoral structure that would: advance voting as an obligation as well as a right; replace the Electoral College; change term lengths (per above); and add congressional term limits, but twice as long as the commonly proposed 12 years.
Seriously? Four Amendments?
Seriously? Four Amendments?
Seriously? Four Amendments?
Yes. They work together as a set to frame our political institutions and determine how we select their leaders.
Could this ever happen?
Seriously? Four Amendments?
So, it's possible in a dozen or more years?
Not today. But the Constitution was called "unamendable" by the Washington Post just 14 years before the Progressive Era's first two amendments (the 16th and 17th, in 1913). Decades-long stretches without amendments is the norm.
So, it's possible in a dozen or more years?
So, it's possible in a dozen or more years?
So, it's possible in a dozen or more years?
Maybe, maybe not. But in 13 years we will mark the 250th anniversary of the Constitution. The best way to celebrate the document in 2037 is to repair it.
Where can I find out more?
So, it's possible in a dozen or more years?
Where can I find out more?
You're in the right place. Just keep reading this website and the articles and columns listed below. See, in particular, "We Love the Bill of Rights. Can We Like a Bill of Structures?", in the Election Law Journal.
Elections Every Three Years: FAQs
How can a three-year cycle work?
But isn't amending the Constitution a nonstarter?
Why do we need to change our election schedule?
A new three-year cycle would entail:
- changing House terms to three years;
- adjusting Senate elections to be for half the body every three years; and
- changing presidential first terms to six years and second terms to three years.
Why do we need to change our election schedule?
But isn't amending the Constitution a nonstarter?
Why do we need to change our election schedule?
Two-year terms in the House and, especially, four-year terms for president have run their course. Lame-duck presidencies are worsening and becoming more frequent. The Permanent Campaign is making governing harder, taking time from citizens' lives too, and driving voters away.
But isn't amending the Constitution a nonstarter?
But isn't amending the Constitution a nonstarter?
Aren't there other election reform issues to worry about?
Amending the U.S. Constitution should be difficult. Accordingly, this idea is a thought experiment, a longer-term solution that needs to be vetted first. If lame-duck presidencies and the permanent campaign continue to worsen, a three-year election cycle may build appeal.
Aren't there other election reform issues to worry about?
Aren't there other election reform issues to worry about?
Aren't there other election reform issues to worry about?
There are. Voting rights, the gerrymander, campaign finance and international intrusion all warrant attention and action. But solving them will not reverse the declining value of presidential second terms or stop the permanent campaign from grinding down our democracy.
Is structure harder to change than individual rights?
Aren't there other election reform issues to worry about?
How can I learn more about the three-year election cycle?
Not always. Like bridges and other infrastructure, repair or replacement is necessary when erosion occurs. If the schedule of our elections no longer serves us well, we need to consider changing it. In the years and decades ahead, a three-year election cycle may be seen as long overdue.
How can I learn more about the three-year election cycle?
Aren't there other election reform issues to worry about?
How can I learn more about the three-year election cycle?
You're in the right place. Through the content on this website, the Structure Matters Blog and links to articles and other publications, you can find out more and follow developments. The Additional Features section is a good place to start.
ARTICLES and COLUMNS: CONSTITUTIONAL ELECTORAL STRUCTURE
Journal Articles
Election Law Journal*
"We Love the Bill of Rights. Can We Like a Bill of Structures?", December 2022 (Vol 21, No. 4). In this article, I review constitutional amendment history, describe the structural electoral problems that require constitutional amendment—voting, the Electoral College, term lengths and term limits—and propose the four-amendment set that would address them (the Bill of Structures). I present the 250th anniversary of the Constitution in 2037 as a compelling target date for pursuing such amendments. The time between now and then could prove comparable to a period, beginning in the Gilded Age, when the Constitution was initially thought to be "unamendable," only to be followed in 1913 by the ratification of the first two Progressive Era amendments.
"Presidential Second Terms Are Not Cursed, But the Timing of Reelection Has Become So," June 2018 (Vol 17, No.2). In this article I review the history of presidential term-length consideration and make the case for a first term of six years and a second term of three years. (Promoted in advance as a “high-impact article” and, after publication, as a “top-read open access article” -- May 13, 2020.)
Idaho Law Review
"Election Structure Matters: Fixing the Creaks and Cracks in the Constitution by Its Quarter Millennium," 2020 Symposium, Democracy Evolved: The Future of American Elections, September 2020. In this article I address the problems with the Electoral College, presidential term lengths and congressional term limits. I propose: 1) replacing the Electoral College with a system using the popular vote and runoff elections, likely of the instant variety, to deliver majority outcomes; 2) changing the presidency to a six-year first term and three-year second term; and 3) considering limits on congressional tenure that are at least two decades long.
* peer-reviewed.
Op-eds and Columns
Constitutional Conversations
(Substack, Center for Constitutional Design, ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law)
Amendments: The LaRue-Olsen Debate Continues and Welcomes Others, May 24, 2023. My reply to Henry Olsen’s A Response to Rick LaRue: What to do to Ensure the Constitution’s Democratic Promise, in the May 10, 2023 edition (commenting on my March 2 column, below).
“Election Reform? Don’t Forget the Constitution.” March 2, 2023. My summary of my article, “We Love the Bill of Rights. Can We Like a Bill of Structures?”
The Fulcrum (a Contributor since September 2023)
Trump vs. the 14th Amendment: Myths and Facts, The Fulcrum, January 10, 2024. Ten reminders to separate myths from facts about the pending Supreme Court case on Donald Trump’s eligibility to serve as president. (See, also, "Could the Constitution . . ." below.)
Holiday Reads: Books to get you beneath and beyond the elections, December 7, 2023. Ten books that offer hope and perspective on the future of election reform in the U.S.
An unamended Constitution is a serious problem, November 14, 2023. Keying off Steven Levinsky’s and Daniel Ziblatt’s latest book, Tyranny of the Minority, I offer context and timeframes for their call for amending the Constitution.
Could the Constitution Itself Defeat Trump in 2024? October 4, 2023. My update on the prospects for using Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to disqualify Donald Trump from serving as president, and my conclusion on whether doing so would be legitimate (it would be). (See, also, "Trump v. Section 3 . . ." above.)
Constitution Day conversation with Jamie Raskin: Preserving democracy today and tomorrow, Sep 21, 2023. Excerpts of my interview with Representative Jamie D. Raskin (MD-08), featured in the special section above.
The next big lie: So he can quit rather than lose, June 26, 2023. In a segue from constitutional electoral structure, I speculate on how and why Donald Trump may exit the campaign before election day.
It happened in 15 of the last 18 elections, rather than in 16. Should we expect it any less January 18, 2023. This column presents the fascinating, 70-year data supporting the pattern of partisan rotation in the White House every eight years.
Single 18-year terms for justices? Not so fast, August 10, 2021. This column identifies the likely fatal flaw in the otherwise compelling proposal for staggered 18-year terms for Supreme Court justices. Despite the plan’s benefits from standardizing the rotation of justices, such fixed terms would cause the definitive knowledge of the departing justices to be weaponized; hyper-partisanship would merely shift from the confirmation process to the permanent campaign, where it would worsen and lengthen.
The too-short term limit mistake, June 24, 2021. After reviewing the history of congressional tenure and term-limit advocacy that has had a baseline of two Senate terms, I argue for limits twice as long. (Published in follow-up to my letter in the Washington Post on the topic (third one), prompted by Roxanne Roberts's lengthy column on the aging US Senate, an otherwise good feature that only considered the usual limit of two Senate terms).
It may take a while, but elections and voting could be the force behind constitutional change, April 22, 2021. In this column I use the history of constitutional amendments to make the case why election reform could be the next subject for amendments – by the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution.
It’s a close call, Colorado, but please stick with the national popular vote, October 29, 2020. My advocacy for voters in Colorado to support the state’s prior decision to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, despite the compact’s flaws. (The ballot measure, Proposition 113, passed with 52.3% of the vote.)
Elector faithlessness is the least of the college's problems, June 11, 2020. My column discounting the impact of the Supreme Court’s then-pending decision in the faithless elector cases, elevate the larger problems with the electoral college and identify the fatal flaw in the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.
It’s time to make presidents face the country’s six-year itch, April 1, 2020. In this column I describe the problems with reelection at the "four-year crutch" and argue for a six-year first term followed by a three-year second term. Scratching that six-year itch again, with Trump in mind, August 24, 2020. In this follow-up column I demonstrate why the Trump presidency is irrelevant to term-length considerations. There are four reason why a single six-year term of a Trump-like president would be implausible. Furthermore, Trump’s presidency is problematic because of issues with the Electoral College, the presidential nominations process and voter turnout, not term lengths.
The Hill's Congress Blog
Election Reform: It’s About Time, May 3, 2013. My introductory case for the three-year election cycle, focused on time and the permanent campaign.
Letters to the Editor
The Washington Post
In Understanding the 14th Amendment (December 1, 2023, second letter), I discount the legitimate criticisms Sherrilyn Ifill levied against the Colorado judge’s decision that was appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court.
In An interstate compact on voting could be improved (June 18, 2023), I clarify both the flaws and the benefits of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, in response to Jason Willick’s mostly critical op-ed.
In Here’s a better approach to electing presidents (September 15, 2022), I note how re-election at four years (rather than six) contributes to single-term presidents having diminished reputations, which troubled Outlook columnist Matthew Dallek.
In Term limits can work – if they’re the right length (April 21, 2022), I point out the value of longer congressional term limits and called for an end to the practice of talking about term limits without indicating their length (an error perpetuated in Ruth Marcus’s otherwise cogent column about Senator Dianne Feinstein’s declining performance).
In response to the article, You're never over the hill on the Hill (June 3, 2021), my letter (third one down) argues for longer congressional term limits, not the common but flawed two-term proposal for the Senate.
In The electoral college should go (May 22, 2020), I make a nonpartisan critique of the Electoral College and stress the need for majority rather than plurality voting outcomes.
In It’s not time to throw out the electoral college (April 7, 2019), I argue for its careful replacement, not merely its elimination.
In Evaluating the terms of a president (January 8, 2014), I indicate the merits of changing term lengths rather than term limits.
The New York Times
In this Sunday Dialogue: A Single Seven-Year Term for the President? (April 28, 2013), I introduce the idea of a six-year first term and a three-year second term.
Three-Year Cycle: Additional Features
Madison was right the first time
A Single Six-Year Term for the President?
A Single Six-Year Term for the President?
At the Constitutional Convention, James Madison proposed three-year terms in the House. This structure actually was the first to be adopted by the delegates. However, supporters of single-year terms regrouped and offered the two-year term compromise that was included in the final version of the document and remains in effect today.
A Single Six-Year Term for the President?
A Single Six-Year Term for the President?
A Single Six-Year Term for the President?
The ideas that four years are too short a term and that reelection pressures and distractions are worth avoiding are not new. In fact, the proposal for a single six-year term for the president was first introduced in Congress in 1826. This plan has now been submitted more than 200 times. Despite its appeal, it deserves to fail for removing entirely the incentive and accountability of reelection.
Term Lengths and/or Term Limits?
A Single Six-Year Term for the President?
The debilitating Permanent Campaign
The issues of term limits and term lengths are related but different. The three-year cycle is anchored by acceptance of the two-term limit for president imposed by the 22nd Amendment. The benefits of the proposal, however, are derived by the change in term lengths: a first term of six years followed by a second term of three years.
The debilitating Permanent Campaign
The Six-Year Itch and the Four-Year Crutch
The debilitating Permanent Campaign
The Permanent Campaign has become both permanent -- the next election cycle begins before the prior one ends -- and about campaigning (it originally referred to a style of governing). It repels the governed and eats at our time as much as it skews governing policies and leaves officeholders with less time to govern.
Lame-duck presidencies now the norm
The Six-Year Itch and the Four-Year Crutch
The Six-Year Itch and the Four-Year Crutch
The 22nd Amendment, adopted in 1951, limits presidents to two terms. It is not the cause of lame-duck second terms but it exacerbates the problem. Other factors that diminish presidential performance in years 5-8 include social and technological change, voting behavior and the news cycle. We now expect and accept less from presidents in their second terms.
The Six-Year Itch and the Four-Year Crutch
The Six-Year Itch and the Four-Year Crutch
The Six-Year Itch and the Four-Year Crutch
In the second-term midterm elections, we repudiate the president we reelected just two years before. This "six-year itch" election (credit: Kevin Phillips) is so predictable that we can't help but question the merits of reelection being conducted at the "four-year crutch."
Other Core and Structural Issues
Elections, Voting and Taxes
The structure of our democracy has multiple aspects. Its constitutional electoral components include voting, the Electoral College, term limits and term lengths. Federalism affects where structural and quasi-structural issues are addressed (e.g., voting and redistricting), and some matters can be addressed through constitutional change or statute (e.g., voting and campaign finance). Processes, such as for congressional and presidential nominations and even taxation can appear structural. These topics will be addressed in future blog posts and articles.
About
Rick LaRue
Rick worked for 40 years at nonprofit organizations in Washington, DC, including the Eisenhower Institute, the American Society of International Law and the Center for Responsive Politics (now OpenSecrets). He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BA in political science from George Washington University and earned an MBA from the University of Maryland.
He serves on the Advisory Council of the Election Reformers Network, and is a Contributor at The Fulcrum.
Genesis
Rick's participation in and close observation of Washington politics over four decades led him to examine non-partisan, foundational issues, beginning with the Permanent Campaign. Today he is focusing on constitutional electoral structure, as presented on this website.
Contact Rick
If you want to reach out to Rick directly, whether about a blog post, one of his articles, the 3-year election cycle, or the Bill of Structures, please e-mail him at ricklarue57@gmail.com.