In the Aug. 29 Recorder, there was an Associated Press article with the headline: “Poll: Biden is widely seen as too old for office.” Following are some quotations from that article:

“In the poll, fully 77% said Biden is too old to be effective for four more years. Not only do 89% of Republicans say that, so do 60% of Democrats.”

“In contrast, about half of U.S. adults say Trump is too old for the office. ”

The article poses the question on the divergence of public perceptions between the two of their ages. And, that it is clear from the poll that “Americans are saying out with the old and in with the young or at least younger.”

It’s time again for my rant about what’s wrong with our election system and how to fix it. What is clear to me, and I believe to many, is that for a majority of people, the next presidential election will be a repetition of choosing the lesser of two evils, both hated by large numbers of voters, and no candidate has a chance of getting support from a majority of voters.

The real problem is not the way the political parties choose the candidates, although that is a problem. As things are, the major problem is that the political parties have been given the power to choose the candidates. Why do political parties have state-sponsored political primaries and caucuses that we the citizens pay for? It is undemocratic and not in the interest of the voters.

Some states have finally realized this and chosen a better way. Maine and Alaska have a system of open primaries and ranked-choice voting. I believe this is the most democratic way available to us.

States should not register voters by political affiliation. Do you realize that when you go to the polls and ask for a ballot of a political party, the election worker is required to repeat the name of the party loudly enough that observers may hear that information? The secret ballot is not so secret after all. Also, if you wish to vote for candidates of more than one party, if you write the name of a candidate of a party other than the one for which you have a primary ballot, it will not count.

Primaries should have one ballot, with names and no party affiliation. The November election should have the names of the top primary vote winners, regardless of party. Let the citizens have the choice of voting for any candidate of their choice in every primary. Now, they are denied that right by the system that favors political parties above the people.

No candidate should be elected to office who does not have the support of at least 50% of the voters. Yes, ranked-choice voting would be more time-consuming and might take a few days for the final result, but isn’t having a good outcome worth the extra time and effort? Since extreme candidates will not have support of 50% of the voters, I believe they will be eliminated, and more moderate office holders will be more able to work together with people with other viewpoints, as it was intended for Congress to do.

It’s the system, stupid. And while we are at it, it’s past time for the Electoral College to be a historical memory. It would take a major effort to change the Constitutions of the states and the United States, but wouldn’t it worth it to have the best representation possible and not have to choose the lesser of evils?

Judith Truesdell lives in Shelburne.