The Feld-Blog

Election reform. Thank God someone is taking meaningful steps to remedy this awkward and ridiculous stumbling block to our otherwise wonderful democratic system. Former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James A. Baker III are now heading a private commission to tackle this most important and long neglected issue.

The vote, by definition, is the cornerstone of any democratic government. It is disconcerting then, that a fog of uncertainty has clouded the election results of the past two presidential elections. If there is no faith in the effectiveness of our voting system, how can there be any faith in the effectiveness of our government? Allegations of voter fraud and voter intimidation open the floodgates to eager critics who yapping, “he’s not the real president” or “He wasn’t really elected.” Electronic voting machines whose completely closed source code is written by staunchly partisan businessmen draw a leery eye by those suspicious of foul play. And amongst this chaos Americans feel pressure place their unwavering confidence in the resulting democratic government. We need to either be sure the right person is in office or elect the right person in the first place.

Among this commissions preliminary recommendations are 1) handing over control of voter registration to the state from the local governments to avoid people fraudulently voting in multiple counties, 2) make electronic voting machines print a paper record for ease of auditing, 3) relax voter registration regulations in places where they have a disparate impact and generally make it easier or more convenient for citizens to register to vote. While there are a few provisions that wreak of partisanship, such as rotating presidential primaries, and mandatory presentation of photo ID to vote, the majority of this commissions already released suggestions seem reasonable and almost obvious.

Election uncertainty is the crack in the foundation of our government. It is about time we tried to mend it.