IF IT'S BROKE, FIX IT! ELECTION OVERHAUL CALLS FOR HIGH-TECH APPROACH
By Mark Rutherford
The crisis in voting has gone too far. People don't know if their vote counts in America. Obviously this has a long history and involves so many different problems. The Democrats blame the Republicans for disenfranchising and stealing. The Republicans accuse the Democrats of cheating and stealing. Nobody seems to like the current system, but no one seems to have a solution either. Maybe an overhaul is in order.
There are a lot of issues regarding the vote. We have a system that is run by political operatives. The people at the polling place are there to support their party. The people in charge of counting are at the behest of politicians and interest groups. That is reason enough to be skeptical. Try to grasp the different issues: Electoral College, punch cards, ballot stuffing, identification, convicted felons, state's rights, polling places, absentee votes, unauditable machines built by possibly partisan private companies, just to name a few. It could make one's head swim. This is obviously a big problem that, in my opinion, has reached crisis level. The integrity of America is on the line. We need a bold new plan, an entirely new system. We need an election overhaul.
You've heard it before: "I go to the ATM machine and take out $20. The bank always knows how much I took out and what my balance is. Why can't they make some kind of reliable voting machine?" Then we duck and grumble that they don't care or they're all corrupt. Clearly it's more complicated than that. You have to please the states and the counties, which all have different rules. That is difficult to do.
I'LL OUTLINE MY SOLUTION:
It starts with the Internet... and creating a national vote. Create a website that is for national elections. Call it something like americavotes.gov. This could be the central voting platform for elections in 2010 complete with space for candidates to express their agenda, and provide links to more info. But before we gear up for that we need to set up the national vote in 2008. Who can vote for President? Anyone with a driver's license or a state issued ID over the age of 18. States have laws dealing with people who are not allowed to vote, but the national government does not (as far as I know). The web database tracks users by their state, driver's license, Social Security number, age and address. The Social Security number, name and age are enough to positively identify a U.S. citizen of voting age. (I can only assume that a database exists containing everyone's name, Social Security number, and age in many places within the government.) Include the address and state ID because this will allow for states and counties to join in later with local elections. And it'll help citizens to track and verify the vote without compromising the all-important Social Security number. That's it! Then people can log in and register to vote for the national election. On Election Day, the citizen will come back and vote for President.
The vote should be public and open. That way it can't be rigged. If I vote on Tuesday at 10 a.m., I should be able to check back at 10:01 and see how I voted. In fact I should be able to see how everyone voted (Name, County, last 4 of state ID listed straight down the page and searchable). And I should be able to see who's winning. Right away. Privacy in voting is sacrificed to protect the vote. This, truly open, vote will then be trusted by the people. Some will obviously bemoan the end of the Electoral College but you just tell them that it had to be done as part of the overhaul. I believe in my heart that if this can be accomplished people will once again be excited about the political process. I know you think this is a worthwhile goal.
When the states and counties see how great this works, they will naturally want to join in and link up for localized elections. This should be allowed. The states and counties that want to put restrictions on who can and can't vote for the issues and people within their power will be able to do so. But every citizen of legal age with a driver's license or a state issued ID can vote for President (or any other national issue). Some people might think this idea too revolutionary, but think of everything you do on the Internet: If you can bank, shop, plan your grandmother's funeral, all on the Internet... Why not vote?