(left to right) Darry Sragow, Christian Grose, Asher Feldman and Kahlil Byrd
By Amelia Brodka Student Writer The Nov. 16 "Road to the White House" event featured a panel discussion about the goals and challenges of the Americans Elect movement, which is working to provide an alternative presidential ticket on the upcoming ballot. The panel included C.E.O. of Americans Elect Kahlil Byrd, adjunct professor of political science Darry Sragow, assistant professor of political science Christian Grose and Daily Trojan Editor in Chief Asher Feldman. Americans Elect is an effort to "re-imagine the road to the White House, " Byrd said, where Americans "pick a president, not a party" through an online nominating process. He said the goal is to get on the ballot in all 50 states. "The American people are looking for authentic leaders that care about the important issues," Byrd said. Therefore, he said Americans Elect does not operate on a certain platform or support certain candidates but instead provides an opportunity for people to vote based on the issues they care about. Feldman said Americans Elect is likely to pique the interest of young voters. "In this unsure disillusioned time, young people are open to the idea of having another way to elect," Feldman said. "Those who only had one experience with voting are looking for something else and not happy with what they've seen. They are inspired to change the system and be progressive." Sragow said the way the system is structured no longer serves the purposes of the country's founding fathers or the county right now. "We're not going to replace jobs, the dream of home ownership is dying, education not working, climate problems need to be addressed," he said, adding that it is time to open the marketplace because voters are dissatisfied with the current system and want more choices. Americans Elect is a way to "level the playing field," Sragow said. "It's a totally open process... At the end of the day all we're talking about is a free market in politics." “If the effort succeeds I suspect it will revolutionize American politics,” said panel moderator and director of the Unruh Institute of Politics Dan Schnur. To learn more about Americans Elect click here.
