Election Indigestion!

By the time this article is published, the US election will probably be final. The rhetoric will cool. The winning side will be done gloating. The losing side will be done excusing. And we can all move forward. We wanted it to be over on Election Day, right?

Stop right there, pilgrim. It's not over and will never be over until we address the problems in our election system and work to correct them. If the 2000 Election taught us nothing, we are fated to go through the same process time and time again.

What we have seen are the flaws in our system and the effects those flaws have on outcomes. This election should be a clear call to reform the system and make the changes necessary to see that we are never held hostage in such a way again. This election brought into the limelight problems that have existed for some time. Several states have addressed such issues after court cases much like the one played out in Florida this year. It's time to address it on a national level.

What needs to be changed about the election process? Before we get to the issue of ballots and counting, we need to take a serious look at our whole process.

• The time frame … most candidates began their campaigns in the summer of 1999 … 15 - 18 month before the election. Is it any wonder the American public was sick of the whole thing and just wanted it over by Election Day? How much lost productivity could be attributed to the absence of the candidates during this time? Don't we deserve to have our elected officials serving rather than campaigning?
• The process … some states hold primaries, others select a slate of candidates at district caucuses. Isn't it time to consider holding a National Primary, to be held on the same day in all of the states? This idea has been floated many times and rejected by states who want to control their own election process. Who are they controlling it for? Don't the needs of the people come first? Wouldn't it make more sense to let the people have their say and send more than one viable candidate into the convention?
• The conventions … used to be more than a place where delegates rubber stamped a slate of candidates already deacided. They used to be arenas of debate … of hammering out a platform and selecting candidates who would promote that platform. Doesn't it make more sense to go to the convention with a choice of the party's brightest and best and to nominate the one who best represents the will of the people?
• Federal funding of campaigns … what started as a good idea has turned into a bad joke. Instead of giving money to candidates or political parties, it might be a Good Thing to use these funds to help the states improved their voting systems. That the national election hinges on a hand count due to the inaccuracy of the systems used to cast and tally votes is a national shame. Let's devote our resources to fixing this problem.
• The ballots …a national standard based on research as to the most easily read and understood type of ballot would be the ideal solution. Since it might be impossible to get all the states to agree, a good interim step might be to standardize ballot formats statewide. The ballot needs to be in the simplest possible format so that it is easily understandable by all voters. The current system disenfranchises the voters.
• Voting and tabulating systems. We can put a man on the moon but we can't afford more accurate voting systems? Let's put that famous American ingenuity to work and fix this problem.
• The electoral college … this system needs serious reconstruction, perhaps even complete demolition. If we don't eliminate it altogether, we should make it more responsive to the will of the people. Perhaps the best solution is that used in Maine and Nebraska whereby electors are assigned based on the popular vote in each of the voting districts. Perhaps all votes would still go to one candidate, as Maine's did for Gore and Nebraska's did for Bush, but it would be more truly representative of the will of the people and would force candidates to address issues and concerns in every voting district of every state.

These are the issues, as I see them. But, hey, the election is over. We're tired of it, right? Let's not put this issue on the back burner. Let's never, ever, go through this again. We owe it to future generations to address and correct these issues. Why? In the words of the Great Emancipator … "That government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this earth."

Peggy Erickson
11/22/00

Note: Because I strongly believe these issues to be of paramount importance, copies of this article are being forwarded to all representatives, senators and the governor of my home state. I urge all readers to communicate their concerns to their elected officials. Let's make these people responsible to address our concerns.

Election Indigestion!