Something must be done

Let's face it: our electoral system is a bloody mess. There is nothing more to it. When a political party has the means (even if they don't actually do it) to steal a national election, that's just messed up. Signs of a flawed election seem to be found daily in Ohio. Check out "Ten Reasons Why The Vote Does Not Compute, and Why Congress Must Investigate Rather Than Certify the Electoral College." The 2004 election, especially in Ohio, has wrong written all over it.

Now, don't get me wrong; I'm not decrying the whole thing to say Kerry won...my focus is that things appear too strange to not question them. If Bush won, then Bush won; fine. I just don't want to spend the next four years thinking 'did he really win fair and square?' and wondering if 2008 will be the same debacle. Here's 20 Amazing Facts about U.S. Election that, IMHO, would even make an intelligent and logical republican wonder.

Honestly, something must be done. Here are a few things off the top of my head that need to be focused on:

• Election results need to be auditable; we need logs, paper trails, etc.
• If people (meaning the electorate or elected officials) insist on electronic voting machines, the software MUST be transparent and the machines must be highly secure (how reliable is a voting machine that can be hacked into?)
• Elections need non-partisan oversight (or multi-partisan if non- is impossible). This means partisan Secretaries of State should not be in charge of overseeing elections, ESPECIALLY when they are involved in a way that by the standards of any other occupation would be a conflict of interest. That means no more Kenneth Blackwells or Matt Blunts.

There are tons of other things that need to be fixed, but that's a place to start.

For more discussion, see the The Informed Citizen's Guide To The 2004 Election.