The entire election process in this country needs overhauling. I am sick and tired of the corruption, no matter which party does it. MAJOR penalties (and someone who will implement them) need to be initiated that will eventually stop the practice or our nations election process is doomed. Obviously the federal gubmint is not doing much to stop it.
I favor just such a massive overhaul.
First, we MUST return to paper ballots. I don’t give a damn if they are less efficient, take more time to count, etc. - they can’t be manipulated by a few key strokes.
Second, ALL returns from a state must be released simultaneously, and only when at least 99% complete. I am sick and tired of seeing countless races in which a Republican is leading suddenly turn Dem when 80% or more of the last 10% go Dem. Boxes full of ballots that are “suddenly found” in someone’s trunk a day or two after the election must result in prison time for the person who “found” them and the manual examination of each such ballot found (by representatives of ALL candidates who were in said race), with mandated comparison with ballots and registration rolls from bordering counties.
Third, EVERY state must be compelled to purge its rolls of the dead at least 2 months prior to each election. This can be done by federal statute as applied to federal elections.
Fourth, the same reasoning as in #3 can be applied to the entire populace - people move to different towns, or to different states, and it is in the interest of the country at large to make certain that no person has the opportunity to vote in 2 different jurisdictions.
Fifth, students have to be warned about voting both at home and at school - and if they do so (in violation of already-existing law in every state), they become ineligible for any federal employment EVER and have their student loans called in IMMEDIATELY.
Sixth, the practice of “walking around money” in the days before Election Day is disgusting, and MUST be stopped. Any federal candidate whose campaign is found to have provided ANY such money shall automatically forfeit their race.
Seventh: Yeah, let’s go with the indelible ink painted thumb. You get to vote with a painted thumb, at the cost of said thumb being removed ON THE SPOT by an election official with a hatchet.