Election Reform

It is too late to do it now, but after this election, the Congress should take up a bill for comprehensive election reform for federal office elections. I hope that this election on November 4th will be without controversy. I would be pleasantly surprised. If the margin of victory is wide, then the underlying problems will be less visible. However make no mistake about it, the current system which is administered differently in each state and county is fraught with problems and open to mischief.

Early voting has already begun, and problems are already surfacing. As reported by CNN in Broward County, Florida yesterday, the lines were three hours long at one polling site where the two machines that printed ballots were broken for 45 minutes. A candidate for a judgeship was not on the ballot and someone else's name was put on it instead. I am afraid that this is just the tip of the iceberg of voting problems. It is eight years after the hanging chad issues of 2000, and we are still having issues about voter registrations, ballots, machines, no paper trails, purging voters from voter rolls, etc. This is disgraceful in a country that is supposed to be the beacon of democracy. Instead we look more like a third world country.

Recent allegations by Republicans about voter fraud by ACORN, the community activist group that registered over a million new voters, are headlines in the news. While under the radar are systematic efforts to purge voter rolls using tactics like purging names of anyone whose home was foreclosed and people with similar names as convicted criminals on the basis that these are aliases. The use of voting machines without paper trails or receipts only adds to the suspicion of foul play. Then there are the voter suppression efforts like telling certain people that the Democrats vote on Wednesday and the Republicans vote on Tuesday; or telling college students that if they register to vote, then their parents can not longer claim them as a dependent on their taxes. These are all problems that could be fixed. Certainly the technical problems could be prevented, and handled well in advance of an election so as not to taint the outcome.

Democracy depends on confidence of the voters that their vote counts, that all votes are counted, and that the candidates who get the most votes are the actual winners who are sworn into office. In a real democracy, there is no room for foul play, manipulation of the voting process, or intimidation of citizens who have a right to cast their vote. These are simple standards and they are fundamental to our system of government by the people, for the people. While I generally think that the federal government should not interfere with local elections which should be run by local officials, I believe federal elections are different. Whomever is elected to Congress and to be President and Vice-President will make a difference to everyone of us on the full range of national issues. Election rules for these federal offices should establish a national standard with minimum requirements for conducting these important elections in a fair and honest way. I would hope that both parties could agree on this fundamental concept. That would be putting America First.