One word.....democRATs!
.
Why is it that I am the only one who is concerned about this?
Exactly. And the Motor Voter Act is a big part of the problem. Get rid of that first, before we start in with newfangled technologies and rules. And we certainly don't need to be emulating Mexico.
Democrats.
They have a blue zone because they can control the vote and add as necessary in a tight race.
We do need reform. Showing ID at the polls would help but that won't stopped the registered dog or cat from voting absentee.
"...That way, someone from St. Paul walking
into a polling place in Bemidji
could be quickly verified. .."
- - -
I just don't understand how these 'provisional' ballots are supposed to work.
In this hypothetical case,
would the voter from St. Paul get to vote on the local issues on the Bimidji ballot?
Could a large number of folks from the city rush out to a
rural area and overwhelm the local voters on local issues?
It's sad - and another reason why perhaps the voting procedure/rules needs to be moved to the federal level whenever the year comes to select a President - that way we would have a standard that is even and the same in every state. It would, in my opinion, make every vote equal in an election where the President is selected -
The president serves as leader to the whole nation - so why not have federal guidelines that all states have to follow -
Just as defending the meaning of marriage - we are now faced with another issue - The Socialist Democrats are destroying everything American - and using every tactic to do it -
The race card.
Just a Canadian perspective,
I just heard a news segment on American ex-patriots living in Canada voting in this election - the guide with the ballot is 300 pages long - how complicated can it be to mark a ballot?
The voting system is Canada is so simple, I'm sure we'd be happy to give you advice - we have the same system nationwide that is used in all elections, municipal, provincial and federal - all you do is mark an X beside the candidate on a paper ballot, it is easy to read, anyone can mark an X, and they are tabulated at the end of the polling by some sort of machine/counter.
And this voter registration stuff - weird - the government has a special agency called Election Canada which prepares the voters list, again for all elections, once you are on you are on, for example election comes up, I get a card in the mail several weeks before the election date, it has the election date and my polling station. All I have to do is bring the card with me. If you aren't on the voters list the ennumerators go door to door for those addresses they have no voters listed or you can go to the government and get put on the voters list. None of this stuff with private groups trying to register voters where it is clear all the problems are. And I think you can be added to the voter's list if you show up with proper ID, I can't remember. I have no recollection of any problems with fraud, recounts in very close ridings but that is it.
2 Party Dictatorship, enough said.
what is preventing us? appearing as though we are disenfranchising the less fortunate... stupidest reason ever... how is asking for identification disenfranchising anybody? seriously... don't send me posts about how it's not fair to dead people, felons, illegals... there is nothing legitimate that prevents us from making needed changes...
(2) Any network announcing any results or calling any election before 9 PM Sunday night will have its FCC Licence revoked as of Monday morning at 9 AM.
This one is way tooooooo easy: CORRUPT POLITICIANS
Democrats. period.
We used to be able to trust each other's honesty. That's gone up in smoke now though.
The answers above (1 1/2 party dictatorship and such), complacency of the citizenry and the common, irrational belief that we are the best and no one can tell us anything. Compare this with the thread a couple of days ago about Swiss election observers coming or wanting to come to the US. There was nothing but invective and insults there. The ugly face of mindless nationalism. But we have a lot of learn from the Swiss and, as it turns out, (Oh my!) from the Mexicans. What can ya do? Another Pollyannish vanity thread last night again extolled the virtues of American Paradise with the usual worn patriotic banalities and cliches. Who can argue?
One word.....democRATs!
.
"Democrats"
At the risk of being flamed, I'm in favor of using driver's licenses as Voter ID/registration. For those who don't drive, every state offers a photo ID.
At least there's some consequense of having a false driver's license, and there are databases that can be checked instantly to prevent duplicate voting. Also, the address used for a license can be checked against the post office database of valid residential addresses.
You can have both the rule of law and easy access to voting.
There's only two reasons for all the problems relating to our voting procedures. Either it's gross incompetence or being done on purpose, in which case those responsible need to held accountable from Congress on down to the local level.
In a nutshell:
Campaign finance reform:
Puts limits on the electorate, violates free speech, allows billionares to buy elections.
Election Reform:
Empowers the electorate and lessens the possibily of a lifetime career in Congress.
No brainer.
But I do believe John McCain fought the wrong dog with CFR. It is the corruption at the ballot box which sullies our election process.
John McCain seemed to be more concerned with forcing his version of "nice" than he was about an honest election. But hey, he is a politician.
Reform would not take much:
Proof of ID when registering.
Proof of ID when voting.
A disclaimer that the voter is responsible for knowing how to vote--if you have questions, then ask.
No election drives.
Scrap the motor voter program. If someone is not motivated enough to go to the Courthouse to resister, then they are not motivated enough to cast an informed ballot.
Period.
End of story.