The most important right in a Democracy

[Gunny]

The ONLY reason you saw the problems you did int Florida was the little bins that catch the punched out chads had not been emptied regularly.

There were so many people voting in that election the the chads built up quickly and people did not realise the little hole was not made as well as it should be.

The solution was so easy ad cheap.

Empty the bins and when you vote make sure the little chad gets punched out of the right hole.

So all that really needed to be done was to tell voters that.

BUT NO!

The R congress decided to spend MILLIONS on new electronic machines which have now proven complete wastes of money and now counties all over America will have to scrap the brand new machines and buy some kind of new equipment.

if it were me making the decision I would go back to the chads and just teach the poll workers to periodically EMPTY THE CHAD BINS!

Or an X on a piece of paper as you say.

That's dumb. I voted in Miami. The cards are clear and in first grade english. Only dumbfucks could screw it up, and blaming it on the trash bins is lame.

 

[Edward]

Easy Fix.

Get rid of the paradigm that requires a secret ballot.

Walk into your polling place and prove you have the right to vote. Then locate the signature sheet with your candidates name on it. Sign in the next blank space. Go home knowing that your vote is counted.

Or even better hold a meeting in your neighborhood at 1:00pm on election day and give everyone time to speak to the issues and the candidates and then after everyone has had time to speak read the names of all the people who are running and everyone can say who they vote for. After the voting is done the total's are counted by the neighborhood and if anyone contests the vote total they can then have a visual count of the raise of hands for those voting for each candidate. You can be 100% your voice was heard and your vote was counted. Anything less then this transparency is going to leave people wondering whether their vote was counted and wheter it was counted correctly. Then when the neighborhood releases the election results you can check your name and confirm that your vote was recorded correctly. If not you can begin a neighborhood petition for a re-vote.

 

[Ninja]

That's so lame.

Anyway, presumeably someone from the neighborhood would be responsible for reporting the votes to a higher authority - who's to say that this person would report the correct numbers, or that the higher-ups wouldn't fudge 'em a bit?

I know! We could have a giant get-together at 1:00 PM on election day in the middle of the country! And all 300 million of us would have time to speak to the issues and the candidates and then after everyone has had time to speak read the names of all the people who are running and everyone can say who they vote for. After the voting is done the total's are counted by the country and if anyone contests the vote total they can then have a visual count of the raise of hands for those voting for each candidate. You can be 100% your voice was heard and your vote was counted. Anything less then this transparency is going to leave people wondering whether their vote was counted and wheter it was counted correctly. Then when the country releases the election results you can check your name and confirm that your vote was recorded correctly. If not you can begin a neighborhood petition for a re-vote.

Of course, after one election you'd be behind by four or five, but who cares?