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The main methods for selecting officials are:

1. Election — By vote, either by the people or some subset of them.
2. Sortition — By lot, the way juries are selected.
3. Appointment — Selection by other officials, also called cooptation, especially when a body appoints its own members.
4. Examination — Use of a procedure to rank or reject contenders, often in conjunction with other methods.
5. Rotation — Each of several persons takes turn filling an office. Usually done under one of the first three.
6. Seniority — Usually a method of promotion within a department or branch.
7. Conquest — Surrender to a powerful individual or group, usually but not necessarily through violence.
8. Inheritance — Method characteristic of monarchical or aristocratic systems.
9. Purchase — Usually a corrupt mode of appointment, it could be made legal.
10. Infiltration — Placement by subversive means, or by influence of a special interest group.

The main methods of removing officials are:

1. Expiration of term
2. Non-retention
3. Termination by superior
4. Impeachment and removal
5. Resignation
6. Death
7. Disability

Selection Alternatives and Reform

•    Approaches to Electoral Reform
•  Voting Theory and Reform
•  The Sortition Option — Articles and links on this method.

Vote rigging

•   Votescam, by James & Kenneth Collier — Report of investigation of vote fraud in the United States. Guide for how to conduct such investigations.
•  Citizens for Leaders with Ethics & Accountability Now! (CLEAN) — Investigate vote fraud. Have online photographic evidence of ballot altering.
•  Citizens For A Fair Vote Count (CFVC) — Clearing house for vote fraud investigations.
•  Voting Integrity Project — Seeks reforms of the electoral process.

Campaign financing and disclosure

• Enforcement
  •  Federal Election Commission — Administers reports of campaign funding and disclosure laws and posts data online.
  •  California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) — Administers 1974 California Political Reform Act {PRA).
• Resistance
  •  Californians Against Corruption Defense Fund — Oppose what they claim is corrupt abuse of California PRA. [cache of inactive site]
  •  RealCampaignReform.org — Opposes legislation to limit campaign contributions and require disclosure of contributors.
  •         Real Campaign Finance Reform, by Jon Roland — Article: Mar. 24, 2001

Participation

•  Ballot Access News — Reports on the adventures of those trying to get candidates and measures on ballots in every state.
•  Electorama — Extensive collection of documents and links on election reform.

Redistricting

•  Coalition for Non-partisan Redistricting.
•    Proposal for redistricting plans in Texas — Would make use of existing computer programs to draw districts without regard for ethnicity or voting history.
•  Redistricting Software — Used to draw district boundaries. Can be used to make districts that do not take into account voting patterns of the interests of incumbents.
•  Fixing the Reapportionment Mess, by Bill Blomberg, Dec. 7, 2000 — Calls for drawing electoral districts using impartial computer programs.
• V Demo of Texas congressional redistricting. Video interview of staff of the Redistricting Division of the Texas Legislative Council, May 16, 2003, and aired on public access cable May 17, 2003. Higher-res version. You will need the latest version of RealPlayer to view it, and a high-bandwidth connection to the Internet.

Removal

•  Impeachment — One of the methods of removal prescribed by the U.S. Constitution for the president and other high officials.