Today we learned that half of Detroit's votes may be ineligible for recount. www.detroitnews.com/... We can expect voting to get worse in the THIRTY THREE states with GOP governors (en.wikipedia.org/...) (HOW did we manage to lose the governorship of VERMONT?).
Today, NYAG Schneiderman (chosen by Kos as deputy leader of the resistance www.dailykos.com/...) released a report on voting problems in NEW YORK. You may remember the failures in the NY primary (see, for example, www.nydailynews.com/...).
The report can be downloaded from the press release here: ag.ny.gov/....
There are some common sense suggestions. The states that do voting right are California and Oregon. Oregon does vote by mail, which is great. Every state with a low population should do that. I think it would be great for Hawaii and Alaska. California has a much more complicated system that also works, featuring online registration, early voting, and no-excuse absentee voting (see, for example, ballotpedia.org/...).
No Excuse Absentee Voting
Schneiderman recommends no-excuse absentee voting and this, I think, is a reform that every state that wants people to vote should do. This should be the rule in every blue state. Red states, of course, favor voter suppression (see, North Carolina, Wisconsin, and, of course, Michigan). No-excuse absentee voting simply means that you can ask for an absentee ballot even if you might be able to go to the polls on election day. It's not the rule in New York. In New York, you have to sign a form saying that you won't be able to vote. It forces people to go to the polls even though there are not enough voting machines in many areas (not my area, but other areas).
Raise Taxes
Which brings me to a point not raised in the report. We are the party of government jobs. Let's staff and fund the Boards of Elections in blue states so that all votes are counted, everybody votes, and there are no lines. How do we do that? By raising taxes. When Trump lowers the taxes of plutocrats by 10 points, let's raise them by 5 in blue states and by 1 or 2 in cities like New York. Kossacks complain that the federal government involves a wealth transfer from blue states to red states. Let's end it. Let's tax the rich in blue states and pay for excellent services: nurses, police, firefighters, teachers, and staff for the Boards of Elections.
That would allow blue states to follow another Schneiderman recommendation: have all polling sites open from 6 AM to 9 PM on election day. Also, election notices from the BOE should be accurate. Even in NY, some were not. People need to be told where they will vote.
Many Other Great Suggestions
There are other very good ideas, such as same day voter registration, permanent voter registration, early voting, and protections against improper vote challenges.