I, along with what I hope is many others, want honest elections. The appearance of fraud and corruption in our voting process make us appear like just a second rate country. Is it just a “pipedream” to want and to demand reform in the voting process?
Why do we as a society, as Americans, allow such deception to occur? We used to pride ourselves on our elections and had the belief the process is part of what makes America great. Aside, of course, from what used to be certain areas of the country — Chicago, New York, Boston — where the local “machine” would ensure victory by almost any means, which was something we would joke about. But it is no longer a joke.
Do we really want a candidate who won by vote fraud? If I were a politician, I would feel very uncomfortable knowing that I was elected by questionable votes and a questionable counting process. But, then, that might be the problem — that politicians don’t care as long as they get elected and reelected.
Some might say that fraud in the election process is very, very low. Maybe it is or maybe it isn’t, but if we want fair and honest elections where we don’t question the votes of a candidate, then reform is essential.
At the least, doesn’t something feel wrong with counties having more voters than people?
Here are some of my suggestions:
1) Require a valid ID to vote. The government would pay for the cost of the ID. Some will bring up racism and, for example, how blacks were prevented from voting in the early part of the 20th century, but come on, even the UN observers at the 2012 election were amazed that we do not require ID.
2) Next step would be to canvas the voting rolls and after investigating, remove people that are dead, registered multiple times, and so forth:
- http://bwcentral.org/2012/11/undercover-video-obama-workers-enable-double-voting-across-state-lines/
3) Next, a deadline to register. There must be time to check the rolls to make sure the person is legitimate. Same day registration doesn’t offer that and is ripe for fraud.
4) When counting questionable ballots, have members of both parties there. If this panel of two cannot agree, the ballot would go to a bipartisan panel that would decide. The local Registrar of Voters would mainly oversee the operation, but because of the politics involved, would stand aside during this process and only be able to offer their professional opinion:
Yes, these measures would cost money, but isn’t a fair and honest election worth it? Blatant disregard of irregularities throws into doubt the validity of the election. Again, if I were a candidate, I would want to know that I was elected because of a fair and honest election. How far will we go to elect our candidate? Are we willing to cross the line to make sure our candidate gets elected?
I’m worried where we are heading. We need to have fair and honest elections, no matter which side is elected. Fraud, or the appearance of it scares me and I hope it scares you into doing something about it.
I ask all Americans to demand real voter reform to make sure that we indeed have honest elections and the only way to ensure that is if we continually pressure our elected officials for change.