If Barack Obama wins the presidency and we expand our democratic majorities in Congress, there are several things I would like to see happen to reform our system of elections. Here are 10.
- Robocalling should be outlawed within 30 days of an election (or completely). These calls are used to mislead millions of Americans. Frequently, the calls blatantly lie, such as push polls stating that Obama is a Muslim. In other cases, voters are exposed to foul language; a Pennyslvania push poll claims to be from Obama and, reportedly, no matter what option callers select, the call unleashes a string of racial epithets.
Most Americans oppose computerized marketing calls anyway; further, although these organizations record a phone number with the call--as required by law in many states--voters who try to use the number to complain can rarely reach someone. If candidates or political organizations, want to call constituents, they should be required to use live people.
- Campaigns should have to document identifying information for every donation, no matter how small. As far as I can tell, the Obama campaign does so with its Website donations. This would alleviate one more concern people might have about the integrity of our election process.
- Voter registration organizations should not be allowed to impose quotas or pay per registration. Acorn is not the only group with registration issues; a republican group known as Young Political Majors, or YPM, is under investigation in several states for its tactics:
Voters contacted by The Times said they were tricked into switching parties while signing what they believed were petitions for tougher penalties against child molesters. Some said they were told that they had to become Republicans to sign the petition, contrary to California initiative law. Others had no idea their registration was being changed.
The firm hired by the California Republican Party -- a small company called Young Political Majors, or YPM, which operates in several states -- has been accused of using the tactic across the country.
Election officials and lawmakers have launched investigations into the activities of YPM workers in Florida and Massachusetts. In Arizona, the firm was recently a defendant in a civil rights lawsuit. Prosecutors in Los Angeles and Ventura counties say they are investigating complaints about the company.
The firm, which a Republican Party spokesman said is paid $7 to $12 for each registration it secures, has denied any wrongdoing and says it has never been charged with a crime.
Some also report having their registration status changed to absentee without their permission; if they show up at the polls without a ballot they may be unable to vote.
The Times randomly interviewed 46 of the hundreds of voters whose election records show they were recently re-registered as Republicans by YPM, and 37 of them -- more than 80% -- said that they were misled into making the change or that it was done without their knowledge.
Unlike Acorn's registration fraud, this constitutes legitimate voter fraud, potentially cheating a voter of his or her right to vote.
- Secretary of State positions should be nonpartisan. Obviously this is difficult to ensure, but nevertheless efforts should be taken to make it a much less partisan position.
- No state should be able to remove someone from the voter rolls without notifying that voter within 30 days of an election.
- Establish national standards on what crimes make one ineligible to vote. We do not need situations like the one in Alabama, where the governor gets to decide what crimes constitute "moral turpitude" and should disqualify you from voting.
- People should not be able to be "challenged" by partisans of either party at the polls. The entire process of deciding who is a legitimate voter should be handled in as nonpartisan a fashion as possible.
- Change the electoral system so that it is not winner take all or simply abolish the electoral college all together. This would make more people feel that their vote counts, it would make all 50 states important during a campaign, and it would provide a better representation of what America wants.
- Increase the term in the House of Representatives to 3 or 4 years but establish term limits. Having these guys have to run every 2 years means they spend more time thinking about how to do what they think will get them elected more than what is the "right" thing. It consumes a lot of money, and they are in a perpetual state of campaigning.
- Allow early voting in every state. There should be an established voting "period." Our population is too large for some states to adhere to a one-day voting period. This results in long lines that discourage many from voting. Ideally I would like to see electronic voting someday.
I am sure there are many other suggestions people have to improve our voting system. These are just a few of the ones I have been thinking about. Feel free to add your own recommendations below.
As a side note, I find it very strange that republicans would be up in arms about Barack Obama deciding not to spend taxpayer money to finance his campaign. I would think they would prefer that candidates not spend $80 million of taxpayer money to campaign.