dc_dux

Despite the fact that our recent election did not result in a meltdown of the system or widespread fraud or abuse....do we need comprehensive election reform in the US?

I think so.

Here is the reform I would like to see for elections involving national offices (Pres and Congress):

Standardized voter registration requirements for all states. Or better yet, automatic registration tied to something like Social Security number (if you are over 18 and you have a SS card, you are registered..period.)

If not automatic registration, a federal requirement to allow same day registration (currently only 9-10 states allow it) in all states.

Federal requirement for all states to hold early voting or voting by mail (like Oregon). The highest turnouts are the in the states that have these voting options.

Standardized voting machines for all precincts in all states w/testing procedures and paper trails.

Stiff penalties for deceptive practices (like mailings that target certain voters with false information)

We spend $billions to promote "free and fair" democratic elections around the world and yet our system is flawed in many ways.

The Republicans have opposed most serious attempts at election reform in recent years with the assumption that any such reform would more likely benefit Democrats.

I think we will see new efforts at election reform from the 111th Congress.

Is it necessary? What should it include?

__________________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

SabrinaFair

I am TOTALLY in favor of stiff *criminal* penalties for those spreading deceptive messages about voting. This is voter intimidation, and a very ugly fly-by-night form of it. I've seen a lot of this in recent years here in my city; Robocalls telling uninformed voters that Republicans vote on Tuesday, Democrats on Wednesday, or that polling hours have been extended, or that if you are delinquent in your child support, you will be arrested when you go to vote. I think this is disgusting. I don't point fingers at any one party or interest group, but I think something has to be done to combat this problem.

I'm also in favor of automatic re-instatement of voting rights upon completing a criminal sentence. Here in Kentucky, there is a long process that a convicted felon must go through in order to have his civil rights restored. There's a big movement to change this, but its slow going...

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it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."
-Desiderata

dc_dux

There is very good chance that we will see legislation to address the issue of deceptive practices like those described above.

A bill, Deceptive Practices and Voter Intimidation Prevention Act,sponsored by Rahm Emanual (now Obama's WH chief of staff) passed in the House last year.

Amends the federal criminal code to make it unlawful for anyone before or during a federal election to knowingly communicate, or attempt to communicate, false election-related information about that election, with the intent to prevent another person from exercising the right to vote.

Increases from one year to five years' imprisonment the criminal penalty for intimidation of voters.

Authorizes any person to report to the Attorney General false election information or intimidation of voters.

Requires the Attorney General, immediately after receiving such a report, to consider and review it and, if there is a reasonable basis to find that a violation has occurred, to: (1) undertake all effective measures necessary to provide correct information to voters affected by the false information; and (2) refer the matter to the appropriate federal and state authorities for criminal prosecution or civil action after the election.

The Senate companion bill was sponsored by Obama.

I dont think either of them will be letting the issue go.

__________________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

Willravel

Absolutely!

Later Campaigning: You have 2 months to pick a nominee and 2 months to pick one of the nominees for president. 4 months. That's it. I don't want to start hearing about an election a year in advance

Finance Reform: Kill soft money for good; make a Constitutional amendment. Limit the donation at $5000 per election. Provide a certain amount of free, government sponsored ad time in TV, print, and radio so that poorer candidates aren't simply shut out.

Every Party: After each major party (Dems, GOP, Libertarian, Green, Independent) has a nominee, they all are allowed to campaign and debate.

Real Debates: No BS 2 minutes, then 30 seconds rebuttal. I never did that in school, and we actually managed to let people know what we were thinking. Unless they start to filibuster one another, let them answer the question. If the moderator doesn't believe they're on topic, let him or her shut off the mic.

Auto-Registration: I totally agree with automatic voter registration. If you're a citizen and alive, there should be no need to register for a right already guaranteed.

Paper ballots: We need an absolutely uncrackable election, which means no more machines. If Canada can get up-to-the-minute election results with paper, so can the US of A.

Put the SCOTUS in a room with some food and water on election night and don't open the door until someone has over 270 electoral votes.

SabrinaFair

+1

We actually use paper ballots in my county; we're pretty much the only county left in the state that uses them, but we also have the fastest, most accurate vote counts in the state.

__________________
"With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy."
-Desiderata

roachboy

i support most of these, but i would also like to see the election cycle for president made shorter. the last cycle was 2 years long. by the end, it was an exercise in sustained mediocrity---particularly at the level of the press coverage, which i found appalling.

and i've liked a feature of the french system since i encountered it: 3 days before the vote, ALL political advertisement connected to the campaign stops. the assumption seems to be--now you've seen the adverts and gathered actual information. voting requires some deliberation. deliberation takes a bit of time. the gap assumes people are actually making up their minds. so they're thinking, not reacting. something about that assumption seems very far indeed from that which you can see at work in the current american system. it makes voting seem like a dignified act and not a response to consumer stimulii.

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spinning dog. such faithfulness it hear

it make you sick.

-kamau brathwaite

samcol

This is the biggest problem. Throw these corrupt machines away...

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It's time for the president to hand over his nobel peace prize.

Rekna

It would be hard to prosecute this because it says "intent". What they need is 2 penalties. The first is for distributing false information (minor offense) and the second is for knowingly distributing false information.

Proving intent is almost always impossible.

Willravel

Deliberation time is a really interesting idea. I'm sure any break from political adverts would be appreciated by the masses, but a break to deliberate and consider? Very clever, France.

dksuddeth

term limits, god almighty PLEASE can we do term limits?

__________________
"no amount of force can control a free man, a man whose mind is free. No, not the rack, not fission bombs, not anything. You cannot conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him."

aceventura3

I agree. Not only is the intent issue a problem but the issue of remedial action has the potential to create total chaos and can cripple our federal government government. This legislation concentrates too much power in the office of AG, a political appointed position ,regardless of the theoretical stuff about what the AG is supposed to be, it is a partisan office. The AG would have the authority find if a "reasonable" violation occurred. So one hurdle is "intent", (odds are a subjective finding) and another we have the AG making a "reasonableness" finding (also subjective) and then we go into the phase of determining what corrective action to take, i.e. corrective advertising or maybe re-elections. the AG will be under tremendous political pressure. And the kicker is that all of this would have to be done in a very short time frame and at a micro-level because much of this deceptive information/activity may be at a precinct level.

I understand the intent, but from a practical point of view I think we should stay with existing laws and regulations regarding deceptive practices.
-----Added 20/11/2008 at 04 : 34 : 41-----
Some of us just don't support legislation that won't improve our electoral process, and we give our reasons.

__________________
"Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on lunch."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions on vegetarianism while the wolf is of a different opinion."
"If you live among wolves you have to act like one."
"A lady screams at the mouse but smiles at the wolf. A gentleman is a wolf who sends flowers."

dc_dux

ace....do you think existing laws deal appropriately with the type robocalls (or targeted mailings particularly to minorities) that sabrina described.....if you are delinquent in your child support (or have an outstanding parking ticket), you will be arrested when you go to vote.

__________________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

Rekna

I think we need to move to instant runoff voting. no more 2 party system. As long as you can "waist" your vote the system will continue to be ruled by 2 parties. With instant runoff voting there is no longer a waisted vote.

dc_dux

ace....on the issue of registration, do you think a citizen should be denied a vote (or required to file a provisional ballot) because someone in the county voter registrars office mistyped the voter registration form when submitted and it doesnt match exactly an ID presented at the polls?

__________________
"The perfect is the enemy of the good."
~ Voltaire

aceventura3

In North Carolina Elizabeth Dole (R), incumbent, ran an ad against her opponent Kay Hagen (D) associating Hagen with an atheist group implying that Hagen was godless. Dole lost, many believe because of the ad, even many Republicans including religious leaders denounced the ad. Hagen also filed a defamation lawsuit, which she later withdrew. Even in my opinion Dole stepped over the line with the ad, I generally want to know why I should vote for a candidate rather than wanting to know why I should vote against someone. The electorate saw the ad for what it was, a last desperate attempt to win and any cost. Dole may have lost anyway, but the ad clearly cost her votes.

So, first I don't underestimate the electorate. And, second I think other means are currently available to address deceptive campaign materials.


On the issue of "you will be arrested" and other urban myths targeted toward minorities, I have not seen any evidence that supports that minorities don't vote because of those rumors. Secondly, how do you prove them and find the original source? Those rumors won't come formally from any campaign.
-----Added 20/11/2008 at 06 : 02 : 34-----
I think this is a state level issue. If state law is discriminatory or in violation voting rights law I think there a mechanisms to address those problems. I agree that our system is not perfect, but I can not support legislation that in my view would create bigger problems.

__________________
"Democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on lunch."
"It is useless for the sheep to pass resolutions on vegetarianism while the wolf is of a different opinion."
"If you live among wolves you have to act like one."
"A lady screams at the mouse but smiles at the wolf. A gentleman is a wolf who sends flowers."

Dorp

> Federal requirement for all states to hold early voting or voting by mail (like Oregon). The highest turnouts are the in the states that have these voting options.

I won't even get into the problems I have with the words "federal requirement," but as much as I love voting by mail (I served in the military and I'm young, so I've never actually had the opportunity to go to a physical "booth") I have one problem with it. Family pressure.
I have a friend who told me he voted for Obama as soon as his ballot came in the mail while his parents were still at work because he feared his conservative parents would pitch him a bunch of bull.

One thing I wish would go away or be managed somehow are 527's like Moveon.org and Swiftboat Vets, etc. These organizations have no limits on the money they collect and can say whatever they want as long as they don't SPECIFICALLY endorse a candidate. The way I see them get involved in local races now irks me even more. I don't need some lobbyist from D.C. who's never visited my state to tell me who NOT to vote for.

Derwood

- term limits for Congress (one 6-year term for the Senate, 2 or 3 2-year terms for the House)

- uniform voting system for federal offices. If states want to cry "state rights" over their local/state voting, fine, but the POTUS voting should be uniform nationwide.

- single day primary voting. Give the candidates 2-4 months to campaign around the country, but have all the primaries vote on the same day....none of this "one state builds momentum for the next" BS....all due respect to Iowa and New Hampshire, but I don't want them determining the primaries months before I get to vote.

- uniform primary voting (both between states and between parties). Right now some states have votes, some caucuses. Dems use super-delegates, Reps don't. All Dem primaries are "per district", some Reps are "winner take all". It's chaos.

- kill the idea of Super Delegates.