HAVA was a bust..Section 5 may be a goner.. What now?
How can an end-around be crafted to successfully address the multiple/multi-state voting issues?
Surely there are some rather easy fixes that no one could argue with.
the constitution says that states "run their own elections", but a more modern interpretation of "running" could lead to the actual mechanics of it rather than a comprehensive and vastly different-from-state-to-state situation we now have.
Perhaps something as simple as peeling off the FEDERAL races (the winner goes to DC) from the other parts of an election could unify the process so that no one anywhere is disenfranchised.
Whatever states do for their other races in any given election could be done however they choose, but those federal races should be uniform from state to state.
Democrats need to also reconsider issuance of an automatic INDEPENDENT voter ID card ( Opt-out..not IN ) for every identifiable citizen in the US who is not already registered. They could choose to align with ANY party at the first election the choose to vote in, but at least they would be a registered voter.
That card could allow them to cast a vote for house/senate/president in ANY state they happen to live in.. If "their" state mandates a diamond encrusted holographic ID to vote for dogcatcher/town council/governor..so be it, but for FEDERAL offices, a simple cardstock ballot with no more than THREE races in any given 2-year cycle should be plenty.
Once in place, turning 18 would automatically trigger voter registration, and an ID...valid in ANY state you happen to live in.
Naturalization would also trigger an automatic registration...as would completion of parole/probation.
..........................
New legislation could also address gerrymandering once and for all.. We have powerful computers and zipcodes maps. The US needs a simple grid system based solely on population, and let the chips fall where they may.
New census? new grid map..
..............................
By having things spelled out uniformly, states would lose thew ability to mess around with elections.
...............................
There should also be a formula in place that sets up appropriate precincts/polling places w/ voting machines based on voters..not by the whim of a political party.
...............................
Counting day "first Tuesday of November" would be that..counting day, but elections could be a 30 day process with early voting EVERY DAY, at various venues or by mail.
...................................
Democrats HAVE to stop being on defense, filing lawsuits.. We need to be the ones on OFFENSE, setting UP the rules & regs and being ahead of the schemes that have yet to pop up from the GOP.
....................................
The electoral college needs to go bye-bye.. we are no longer slave states with plantations and "gentlemen farmers" who own land and are "free white & 21"
....we have evolved..
= new reply since forum marked as read
