-Caveat Lector-
[Note correction at bottom.]
November 11, 2000
Democracy's Rusty Machinery
hat has become embarrassingly clear over the last few anxious
days is that the world's most powerful democracy needs to figure
out a better way to vote for president. The stories coming out of
Florida this week are bad enough � ballots missing or stuck
together, holes punched for the wrong candidate, questionable
absentee ballots. But as Florida's election officials squirm
under the international spotlight, voting supervisors in other
states are wincing sympathetically, many fearing that their own
systems might look just as flawed under such relentless public
inspection.
For all the money and energy spent on campaigns, too few of the
nation's resources are devoted to the mechanics of voting. It is
time to take care of the details.
Voting in America is essentially a local affair. Each state
crafts its own voting system, and most pass along some control to
local governments. In some states, different counties have
different ballots. The hodgepodge that results on Election Day is
scarcely noticeable until something dramatic happens � like this
year's apparent foul-ups in Florida, which may have made the
difference in an excruciatingly close race.
Somewhere in the variety of balloting techniques lies a good
solution. Oregonians send in all their votes by mail � a system
that may be steady but is also very slow. New York City and a few
other urban areas still use medieval voting machines that have
been out of production for 20 years.
California and many other states use a punch- card system,
presumably with friendlier ballots than the ones in Palm Beach
County. But for all of America's faith in technology, digital
voting is still eyed with suspicion. An experiment with Internet
voting earlier this year in Arizona drew criticism that it
favored voters with computers rather than those who voted the
old-fashioned way � by coming to the polls on Election Day.
A.T.M.-style voting machines loom as a possibility, but also
raise questions. Would a voter need the equivalent of an A.T.M.
card and a secret number? Less digitally minded critics suggest
that instead of fancy new equipment, what most polling places
really need are more trained people to help those who get
confused.
Others suggest that Congress establish a special commission to
design a national ballot for the presidency, with incentives for
states that conform to it. Whatever the remedy, this disturbing
election certainly makes the case for more resources to help
states struggling with old equipment or imperfect systems. The
next president-elect, his scars still fresh from this week's
endless recounts, should take on the task of figuring out a
fairer, safer way for America to cast its most important vote.
CORRECTION
An editorial yesterday on the Florida election controversy said
incorrectly that in the 1996 presidential election almost 15,000
ballots were disqualified in Palm Beach County because voters had
punched in votes for two candidates. The county's supervisor of
elections office says that number represents all ballots that
were disqualified, not just those disqualified for
double-punching.
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Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh, YHVH, TZEVAOT
FROM THE DESK OF:
*Michael Spitzer* <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Best Way To Destroy Enemies Is To Change Them To Friends
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