Unfortunately, I do not have an exciting tidbit of breaking news to post for people to debate. Instead I have a question for my fellow Kossacks: what do you think is the most efficient system for voting? It is ridiculous, given the busy schedules of people today and temperamental voting machines, to rely solely on the traditional voting system. Unfortunately, I have seen few alternatives here (East Coast).
This is just a quick diary entry, but I would absolutely love to hear from all of you!
I have been debating the best voting manner with a coworker who has a great deal of experience in this area. I should point out that each of these methods would be supplimentary; the traditional voting system would remain in place. There are a few methods we have come up with:
--------------------
1. Voting by telephone.
Everyone would be mailed an official slip with a secret code on it. You would call in the number, enter your secret code, and then the automated system would walk you through the candidate choices. ("Press '1' to vote for Repubican candidate Santorum or press '2' to vote for Democratic candidate Casey.")
I like this idea because there is a possibility of translating the process into numerous languages. Of course, there are all sorts of glitches to work out, but this is a daydream.
-----------------
2. Voting by computer.
The idea would be to have a secure system set up that would allow people to cast votes essentially over email. Another (very fringe!) idea is to use ATMs to cast a vote in a similar manner. The technology is not there quite yet, but it is moving in this direction. It seems entirely reasonable, in this day and age, that voting be part of the online forum. It seems like a natural progression of our world.
This being said, I am less of a fan of this because it seems that it may be manipulated. Furthermore, of course, not everyone has access to computers.
-----------------
3. Voting by mail.
In this instance, people are mailed a ballot and can slip it in the USPS to vote. From what I have read, this is extremely popular on the West Coast, especially in Oregon.
I think this is a good alternative, as long as all of the questionable aspects (vote tampering, etc) are handled appropriately.
-----------------
Anyway, these are the ideas at this point. What do you all think? Are any of these good possibilites? Other ideas?