The United States is considered to be a flawed democracy. Twenty-nine other countries in the world are described as more democratic. See worldpopulationreview.com where Norway is ranked number 1.

So what is wrong with the United States? The constitution is a good place to start. The United States constitution, defining the first democracy in the world, was developed by a committee whose problem was to unite 13 independent states. The small states felt they would be overwhelmed by the large states within a combined country, so compromises were made to reassure them.

Today, constitutions around the world last an average of 70 years. Many countries have already replaced their constitutions once or twice. The United States constitution is the world's oldest at over 200 years old. Its flaws, to accommodate the fears of low population states, include the following.

1. The Electoral College system distorts the votes for President by giving more weight to voters of low population states. For example, in the 2020 census, there were 68.5 people in California for every one person in Wyoming, yet California had 55 electors to Wyoming's 3, giving California only 18.3 times more Electors, not 68.5. The United States is the only country in the world with an Electoral College system. It should be abolished and the President chosen by direct popular vote.
2. There is no rule against gerrymandered political districts within states. In some states, minority political parties have drawn political boundaries so extreme that they have permanently captured a majority of its representatives. States should be required to have independent Voting Commissions to draw impartial voting district boundaries.
3. The members of the Supreme Court, once approved by the Senate, serve for life. There should be an 18 year term limit for each justice, with a new justice being selected every two years, and all nominees young enough that they will not become older than 75 by the end of their term. Not more than three justices of the Supreme Court should be allowed to be of the same religious faith, nor brought up in the same faith. These provisions would ensure justices are not out of touch with the majority of the United States population. The Senate should be required to vote on each nomination within a fixed time period or the President's nominee would be automatically confirmed.
4. Each state is assigned two Senators, instead of a number of Senators based on its population, resulting in the Senate being very unrepresentative of the nation. The Senate's representation of the United States population would greatly improve if the Senate was capped at 100 Senators, with each State granted a minimum of one Senator. The largest States would be assigned a number of Senators based on their percentage of the national population. Fractions of a percent would be rounded down unless that resulted in unassigned Senate seats. In the case of unassigned seats, that number of States would be chosen from those with populations closest to the next higher number to receive an additional Senator. This would allow the small states to have one Senator each and still provide for closer proportional representation of larger states.
5. The amendments section of the constitution specifically prevents the number of Senators from being changed from two for each state.
6. It is impossible to convict an impeached President and thereby remove him from office because two-thirds of the Senate must vote in favor rather than a simple majority.
7. No person should be eligible to run for any elected Federal office or be appointed to any Federal office if they will turn 76 years of age before their term in that office expires.
8. No person should be eligible to serve as President unless they have served previously as an elected or appointed official of an elective City, County, State or Federal office for at least five years and must also have been elected, not appointed, to a second term in an office of equal or higher rank. This would ensure that a President is familiar with the processes of a democratic government and is mindful of the people's interests.
9. The constitution is difficult to amend because the amendment process is based on needing three-quarters of the states to ratify an amendment. Only two-thirds of the states should be needed to ratify an amendment.
10. Article V of the Constitution allows two-thirds of the State legislatures to ask Congress to call a convention to consider amendments to the Constitution. This method has never been used, but there are no rules for such a convention and States with a minority of the population could pass amendments not favored by a majority of voters in the country. Conservative States are close to doing this now, with 28 of 34 States already having requested a convention.
11. An amendment is needed to allow Congress to create independent commissions that are immune from political pressure. It would prevent the President from adding or removing any member of a commission without the approval of Congress and prevent the President from attempting to direct policy changes to the commission. Members would be nominated by the President, approved by Congress, and serve fixed terms defined for each commission. Nominees would be required to have proper academic and work requirements that would be defined by the commission members.
12. The Department of Justice should be an independent organization immune from political pressure. The Attorney General would be chosen one year after the President is sworn in to office and serve a four year term. The American Bar Association would be charged with providing nominations for five politically moderate candidates for Attorney General. The candidates would be vetted by both the President and the Senate, with each allowed to veto two candidates. If the Senate and the President could not agree on a candidate, the Senate would choose the candidate with a vote of 60 Senators. The President would not be able to terminate or threaten the employment of any member of the Department of Justice, but could request Congress to remove said member. Any vote by Congress to remove a member of the Department of Justice would have to be agreed to by the President unless Congress overrode his veto.
13. An amendment is needed that prevents tax decreases when the budget deficit of the United States exceeds 15% of the gross domestic product. It would also prevent salary increases for elected members of Congress at the same time, including cost of living increases. Expense allowances could go up by no more than the cost of living. A standard election ploy of some politicians is to promise tax breaks every election even though budget deficits are excessive. Only a constitutional clause can break this irrational cycle and force fiscal responsibility.
14. An amendment is needed, when Congress cannot agree on a new budget, that requires the United States treasury to continue at current expenditure levels according to the last budget passed by Congress. It would also authorize automatic debt ceiling increases if necessary in that situation. Politicians would rather play shutdown games that do what is right for the country.
15. An amendment is needed stating that the government must ensure minimum and uniform educational standards for all those attending school. In spite of the phrase "to promote the general welfare" in the introduction to the constitution, opponents to education state that it is not mentioned in the constitution and therefore it is not part of the federal government mandate.