Election Imperative

The nation is heading for a watershed election and we still have unverifiable voting machines in place and voter intimidation tactics kicking into full gear. In this chaotic environment it is unclear whether the will of the people will be heard or if these sort of shenanigans will again be allowed to effect the results. It is unconscionable that in this day and age we should still not be sure that our votes are being counted as cast. It is said repeatedly by pundits and others that it can't be proved that our elections are being stolen, and yet the absence of proof that the system is transparent is the exact cause for the failure. The onus should be on the government to guarantee that elections are fair and not on its constituents. Voters must have complete confidence in the tallying system, and that can only be obtained by removing private firms from the process and reinstituting public ownership.

If we are to accomplish what they say we cannot, we need to retrieve all relevant data from myriad sources. Immediate action is imperative because the voting machines used in the 2004 presidential elections can be legally wiped clean this November, thus destroying much of the hard evidence forever. The machines are currently locked down, but all of their information needs to be transferred to permanent storage mediums, and then accessed to finally determine if they were tampered with or not. This should be standard proceedure under any circumstances, just for security purposes. Besides the "losers" right to surety in defeat, you would think that the "winners" would want irrefutable proof that they won, too. Of course, in this case, there is no way to calculate the effect of rampant suppression of the minority vote, including the shortage of voting machines in heavily Democratic precincts that created unprecedented lines producing waits averaging three hours or more. Anyone who was there or has seen the video footage of Ohio cannot doubt that democracy was subverted.

A combination of old-fashioned voter-roll purging, unprecedented chaos (Florida 2000 notwithstanding), and recent touch-screen technology has allowed the manipulation of the inalienable right entrenched in the Constitution and the Voting Rights Act to vote for the candidates of our choice. The introduction of so-called "provisional" ballots that are often not even counted until after the winner has been "decided" has disturbed the basic ritual of election day. No registered voter should have to vote provisionally in the United States of America or anywhere on Earth for that matter. It's a disgrace that in 2004 there were over 100,000 of them in Ohio (nearly the difference in the race) that had to be held for a waiting period of 12 days before counting, while John Kerry was forced to concede. This kind of travesty needs to be rectified immediately. Additionally, there are credible reports of votes switching from one candidate to another electronically right before the eyes of the voters (all in one direction, by the way). These tactics should simply be unacceptable no matter which party benefits.

It is impossible to reverse the damage that has already been done in our name both domestically and on the world stage under such egregiously false pretenses. However, we can still attempt to halt the dissolution of our republic before any further crimes are committed. The problems are so pervasive, though, that it's difficult to know where to begin fixing them. A full investigation by Congress complete with hearings would be a start, but there has been a reluctance to review the 2004 election not only by those in the Republican majority, but by many Democrats as well. The scandal if the truth were really to come out would be devastating to the reputation of our country as a beacon of fairness and liberty; maybe that's why there has been so little political will to address the issue. However, even if politicians don't want to expose the theft of our democracy, they should at least move to eliminate the threat before it proceeds any further.

The only equitable solution to this ongoing disaster is to implement mail-in elections nationwide. This would shatter the monopoly of private companies profiting from the decimation of our election system and restore voter confidence at the same time. Mail-in voting has been employed exclusively in Oregon for many years now without a glitch. There is an instant paper-trail in case a recount is required due to a tight race, and the pitfalls of electronic voting are avoided entirely. Also, there are no long lines to encounter, and absentee or provisional ballot controversies become non-existent. Many special interests don't want a fair system and will resist such a plan with all the money at their disposal; they must be ignored. Nothing less than the American experiment itself is at stake, and along with it, the fate of the rest of the world.


Sources:

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0601-34.htm

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0621-20.htm

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0626-21.htm

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0629-31.htm

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0701-23.htm

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0704-27.htm

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/063006D.shtml

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062006P.shtml