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I have several personal thoughts about general elections which the politicians would never support or like.  I am extremely happy that the last election is finally over. The next major election is two years away and the president is not up for four years.

I have campaign fatigue. I hate that North Carolina was considered a battleground state. North Carolina received maximum attention from both political parties.  I never saw so many political flyers in my entire life. When I received the first one, I put it in a black 30-gallon trash bag. By the time the election was over, I had a heavy trash bag of flyers which I took to my convenience center.

The Television ads were even worse. If they showed one commercial one time, they showed it many additional times. I guess they don’t believe we can read or see. It certainly was over saturation. I guess political campaigns have an infinite amount of money. I’m sure the TV stations and other media loved it.

Now, this is what could happen to elections but won’t.

The election started way back on December 4, 2023 when candidate filing began in N.C. The primary election held on March 5^th determined who the candidates were for the general election. The general election finally occurred Tuesday, November 5, 2024; 8 months later than the primary election. What’s wrong with holding candidate filing starting in June, the primary election in August and the general election in November?

The states holding the earliest state primaries determine the presidential candidates. What’s wrong with holding a state primary the same day for all states for each Party? It’s over in one day. I’m sure the political parties wouldn’t like it but it would end the drama and be over quick. Candidates can adapt and it sounds fair to me.

Campaign financing is a big issue to me. The average donor can’t afford to donate much at all.  Billionaires like Elon Musk and Michael Bloomberg contribute millions to political candidates. I wonder who gets the most influence when the election is over, billionaires or the average donor? Maybe election finance laws need to be rewritten to actually limit the amount a citizen can contribute to a campaign, also, eliminate PACs and punish those who don’t comply. An election shouldn’t be about how much money a person contributes to buy influence.

Another concern I have is where does the money come from? Does money come from outside the district or state to fund a candidate’s campaign and is it a primary factor in determining the winner? I believe candidates should only be allowed to raise money in the district or state race geographic area they’re running in. The locals need to be the ones determining the winner. Outsiders need to stay away.

I’m all for the United States, Democracy and the elections. Elections are how we choose our government leaders whether they be local, district, statewide or national. I believe the process could be shorter and simpler.

Our elected officials have a lot of issues, programs and things to address and fix. Many affect the country long into the future. Let’s hope that they eventually get addressed.

Al Klemm is a Washington resident and a former Beaufort County Commissioner.