I have many ideas for enhancing what I see as basically a corrupt system of government, most of which I’ve seen stated in one form or another in various places. One thing I haven’t seen is anything that would address the issue of an elected official who no longer feels responsible to those who elected them, and thus can do basically whatever they want (within lawful limits usually) without having to be accountable by the voters (i.e. they can’t vote them out of office).
So my idea is basically this: At each election, voters would be asked as to whether each elected official faithfully and lawfully discharged their duties in whichever office, even if the person is running for re-election. If the “no” vote was over a certain percentage, say 2/3, then they would be fined a certain percentage of their term pay. I’m torn between a graduated fine based on the vote, up to their entire pay for that term, or just some set portion of said pay. Theoretically, a candidate running for a second (or third or whatever) term could both re-elected and fined in the same election, which would send an interesting message to the candidate.
Additionally, I would like to see any elected official who receives a high-enough “no” vote - say 90% or more - to be called before Congress to see if criminal charges should be brought and/or whether they should be forbidden to ever hold public office again.
So would this idea be effective and help anything if implemented?