Please critique my proposed policy to ensure an honest vote

[Foxfyre]

Decades ago there was cheating and hanky panky in elections, but never did we have an electorate as suspicious and convinced of malfeasance or as fearful that elections can be stolen as we have now. Without faith that elections are fair and honest, it is unlikely that our constitutional republic will survive.

So I propose what I believe is a system/policy that, if implemented, will ensure roughly 99.9% honest and fair elections. Do you agree? If not please state your reason why it would be bad policy.

PHOTO ID:
Any person who is unable to secure a certified Driver's License w/photo or other valid photo ID may provide proof of citizenship and residence and apply for a free photo ID in the city or county where the person resides.

REGISTRATION:
All U.S. citizens who are not felons and who are sufficiently mentally competent to register to vote via their own intentional effort should go to the city or county clerk's office where they reside and:
1. Provide certified photo ID, proof of citizenship, proof of home residency, proof of age.
2. Anyone who moves out of his/her precinct must re-register in order to be allowed to vote.
3. Voter registration must be done 2 to 6 weeks prior to the election so that the person can be added to the official voter rolls.
4. Any person not voting in either the primary or general election in any given election year will be dropped from the voter rolls and must re-register to vote.
5. Some provision will be made for those who otherwise qualify but cannot physically go to the city or county clerk's office to register but the registration must be taken by a person with the city or county clerk's office.
5. Anyone falsifying his/her voter registration or knowingly accepting or creating fake registrations is subject to prosecution for a felony offense and, if convicted, will be subject to fine and/or imprisonment.

ELECTIONS:
1. All persons physically able must go to the polls in their assigned precinct personally and present positive certified photo ID and certify under oath that they live at the address shown on their voter registration. Early voting if allowed in any state may not exceed ten days prior to election day and must include all safeguards in place on election day.
2. Those who must or need to vote absentee will apply for an absentee ballot with a signed and notarized application.
3. The completed absentee ballot must be delivered to the precinct polling location no later than the close of the polls on election day. No ballots will be accepted from any source after the polls close. Every absentee ballot should be able to be matched with a notarized application for the ballot. No person having been issued an absentee ballot may vote by any means other than that absentee ballot.
4. Anyone voting in somebody else's name or hindering the timely delivery of absentee ballots to the polling place or discouraging or hindering people's ability to get to the polls will be subject to prosecution for a felony with penalties fines and/or imprisonment.
5. Only properly registered persons living within the United States and/or its territories are eligible to vote.

COUNTING THE VOTE:
1. All interested parties must be allowed to have representatives present and able to observe the counting process. Those representatives must be allowed to remain until the counting is completed and will be given a certified document verifying what the final count is.
2. All ballots will be via paper ballots and hand counted. Counting will continue without interruption, even if people have to be replaced, until all ballots are counted and the results provided to the city or county officials as well as to the poll watchers.

Recognizing that for every rule, there can be necessary exceptions for truly valid reasons such as natural disasters or whatever, the above should insure that never again will any person have to wonder whether an election was stolen.

 

[Canon Shooter]

I like it.

I have a minor issue with item #4 under "Registration".

I would prefer to put the number of missed elections at two consecutive (or maybe even three) before removing someone from the rolls and requiring them to re-register.

In every instance, every person voting should have a state or federally issued ID in order to vote. If you don't have that, stay home...

 

[Lisa558]

Decades ago there was cheating and hanky panky in elections, but never did we have an electorate as suspicious and convinced of malfeasance or as fearful that elections can be stolen as we have now. Without faith that elections are fair and honest, it is unlikely that our constitutional republic will survive.

So I propose what I believe is a system/policy that, if implemented, will ensure roughly 99.9% honest and fair elections. Do you agree? If not please state your reason why it would be bad policy.

PHOTO ID:
Any person who is unable to secure a certified Driver's License w/photo or other valid photo ID may provide proof of citizenship and residence and apply for a free photo ID in the city or county where the person resides.

REGISTRATION:
All U.S. citizens who are not felons and who are sufficiently mentally competent to register to vote via their own intentional effort should go to the city or county clerk's office where they reside and:
1. Provide certified photo ID, proof of citizenship, proof of home residency, proof of age.
2. Anyone who moves out of his/her precinct must re-register in order to be allowed to vote.
3. Voter registration must be done 2 to 6 weeks prior to the election so that the person can be added to the official voter rolls.
4. Any person not voting in the primary or general election in any given election year will be dropped from the voter rolls and must re-register to vote.
5. Some provision will be made for those who otherwise qualify but cannot physically go to the city or county clerk's office to register but the registration must be taken by a person with the city or county clerk's office.
5. Anyone falsifying his/her voter registration or knowingly accepting or creating fake registrations is subject to prosecution for a felony offense and, if convicted, will be subject to fine and/or imprisonment.

ELECTIONS:
1. All persons physically able must go to the polls in their assigned precinct personally and present positive certified photo ID and certify under oath that they live at the address shown on their voter registration. Early voting if allowed in any state may not exceed ten days prior to election day and must include all safeguards in place on election day.
2. Those who must or need to vote absentee will apply for an absentee ballot with a signed and notarized application.
3. The completed absentee ballot must be delivered to the precinct polling location no later than the close of the polls on election day. No ballots will be accepted from any source after the polls close. Every absentee ballot should be able to be matched with a notarized application for the ballot. No person having been issued an absentee ballot may vote by any means other than that absentee ballot.
4. Anyone voting in somebody else's name or hindering the timely delivery of absentee ballots to the polling place or discouraging or hindering people's ability to get to the polls will be subject to prosecution for a felony with penalties fines and/or imprisonment.
5. Only properly registered persons living within the United States and/or its territories are eligible to vote.

COUNTING THE VOTE:
1. All interested parties must be allowed to have representatives present and able to observe the counting process. Those representatives must be allowed to remain until the counting is completed and will be given a certified document verifying what the final count is.
2. All ballots will be via paper ballots and hand counted. Counting will continue without interruption, even if people have to be replaced, until all ballots are counted and the results provided to the city or county officials as well as to the poll watchers.

Recognizing that for every rule, there can be necessary exceptions for truly valid reasons such as natural disasters or whatever, the above should insure that never again will any person have to wonder whether an election was stolen.

I love it! To me, the keys are:

1) no last-minute registration
2) very limited mail-in ballots
3) voter ID required
4) no interruptions once the count commences
5) no ballots accepted after polls close
6) hand counting
7) observers from both sides

I would add one restriction to your list and “ease up” on another:

1) Limited amount of time for early voting. It is ridiculous for people to cast their votes in September, before even a single debate is held. I’d go for “Election Week.”

2) Let’s be lenient in the “physically able to go to the polls.” Many people in their 80s still drive and can get there, but the wait in line could be impossible. I’d say anyone 75 and up qualifies for a mail ballot.

Good job, Fox! The scary thing as we head into the midterms is that we haven’t corrected - via new procedures - the opportunities for shenanigans we had last time.

 

[Foxfyre]

I love it! To me, the keys are:

1) no last-minute registration
2) very limited mail-in ballots
3) voter ID required
4) no interruptions once the count commences
5) no ballots accepted after polls close
6) hand counting
7) observers from both sides

I would add one restriction to your list and “ease up” on another:

1) Limited amount of time for early voting. It is ridiculous for people to cast their votes in September, before even a single debate is held. I’d go for “Election Week.”

2) Let’s be lenient in the “physically able to go to the polls.” Many people in their 80s still drive and can get there, but the wait in line could be impossible. I’d say anyone 75 and up qualifies for a mail ballot.

Good job, Fox! The scary thing as we head into the midterms is that we haven’t corrected - via new procedures - the opportunities for shenanigans we had last time.

Thank you. I value your opinion.

I proposed a limit of 7 days prior to the election for early voting if a state allows it at all. I didn't put any restrictions on who is eligible for an absentee ballot other than they must show proof of who they are when they apply for one and return one. The more stringent policy was to register to vote. We need much stronger regulation on that than what is the current situation.

 

[Couchpotato]

Decades ago there was cheating and hanky panky in elections, but never did we have an electorate as suspicious and convinced of malfeasance or as fearful that elections can be stolen as we have now. Without faith that elections are fair and honest, it is unlikely that our constitutional republic will survive.

So I propose what I believe is a system/policy that, if implemented, will ensure roughly 99.9% honest and fair elections. Do you agree? If not please state your reason why it would be bad policy.

PHOTO ID:
Any person who is unable to secure a certified Driver's License w/photo or other valid photo ID may provide proof of citizenship and residence and apply for a free photo ID in the city or county where the person resides.

REGISTRATION:
All U.S. citizens who are not felons and who are sufficiently mentally competent to register to vote via their own intentional effort should go to the city or county clerk's office where they reside and:
1. Provide certified photo ID, proof of citizenship, proof of home residency, proof of age.
2. Anyone who moves out of his/her precinct must re-register in order to be allowed to vote.
3. Voter registration must be done 2 to 6 weeks prior to the election so that the person can be added to the official voter rolls.
4. Any person not voting in the primary or general election in any given election year will be dropped from the voter rolls and must re-register to vote.
5. Some provision will be made for those who otherwise qualify but cannot physically go to the city or county clerk's office to register but the registration must be taken by a person with the city or county clerk's office.
5. Anyone falsifying his/her voter registration or knowingly accepting or creating fake registrations is subject to prosecution for a felony offense and, if convicted, will be subject to fine and/or imprisonment.

ELECTIONS:
1. All persons physically able must go to the polls in their assigned precinct personally and present positive certified photo ID and certify under oath that they live at the address shown on their voter registration. Early voting if allowed in any state may not exceed ten days prior to election day and must include all safeguards in place on election day.
2. Those who must or need to vote absentee will apply for an absentee ballot with a signed and notarized application.
3. The completed absentee ballot must be delivered to the precinct polling location no later than the close of the polls on election day. No ballots will be accepted from any source after the polls close. Every absentee ballot should be able to be matched with a notarized application for the ballot. No person having been issued an absentee ballot may vote by any means other than that absentee ballot.
4. Anyone voting in somebody else's name or hindering the timely delivery of absentee ballots to the polling place or discouraging or hindering people's ability to get to the polls will be subject to prosecution for a felony with penalties fines and/or imprisonment.
5. Only properly registered persons living within the United States and/or its territories are eligible to vote.

COUNTING THE VOTE:
1. All interested parties must be allowed to have representatives present and able to observe the counting process. Those representatives must be allowed to remain until the counting is completed and will be given a certified document verifying what the final count is.
2. All ballots will be via paper ballots and hand counted. Counting will continue without interruption, even if people have to be replaced, until all ballots are counted and the results provided to the city or county officials as well as to the poll watchers.

Recognizing that for every rule, there can be necessary exceptions for truly valid reasons such as natural disasters or whatever, the above should insure that never again will any person have to wonder whether an election was stolen.

#4 under Registration should be amended. I get what you are driving at but missing one primary or election shouldnt require you to reregister. Multiple consecutive instances of not voting I think is likely more appropriate.

What is the fascination with hand counting? Why do people believe it is more accurate than the computer counting? Computers are better at certain things than humans. One of those things is counting.

 

[Seymour Flops]

Decades ago there was cheating and hanky panky in elections, but never did we have an electorate as suspicious and convinced of malfeasance or as fearful that elections can be stolen as we have now. Without faith that elections are fair and honest, it is unlikely that our constitutional republic will survive.

So I propose what I believe is a system/policy that, if implemented, will ensure roughly 99.9% honest and fair elections. Do you agree? If not please state your reason why it would be bad policy.

PHOTO ID:
Any person who is unable to secure a certified Driver's License w/photo or other valid photo ID may provide proof of citizenship and residence and apply for a free photo ID in the city or county where the person resides.

REGISTRATION:
All U.S. citizens who are not felons and who are sufficiently mentally competent to register to vote via their own intentional effort should go to the city or county clerk's office where they reside and:
1. Provide certified photo ID, proof of citizenship, proof of home residency, proof of age.
2. Anyone who moves out of his/her precinct must re-register in order to be allowed to vote.
3. Voter registration must be done 2 to 6 weeks prior to the election so that the person can be added to the official voter rolls.
4. Any person not voting in the primary or general election in any given election year will be dropped from the voter rolls and must re-register to vote.
5. Some provision will be made for those who otherwise qualify but cannot physically go to the city or county clerk's office to register but the registration must be taken by a person with the city or county clerk's office.
5. Anyone falsifying his/her voter registration or knowingly accepting or creating fake registrations is subject to prosecution for a felony offense and, if convicted, will be subject to fine and/or imprisonment.

ELECTIONS:
1. All persons physically able must go to the polls in their assigned precinct personally and present positive certified photo ID and certify under oath that they live at the address shown on their voter registration. Early voting if allowed in any state may not exceed ten days prior to election day and must include all safeguards in place on election day.
2. Those who must or need to vote absentee will apply for an absentee ballot with a signed and notarized application.
3. The completed absentee ballot must be delivered to the precinct polling location no later than the close of the polls on election day. No ballots will be accepted from any source after the polls close. Every absentee ballot should be able to be matched with a notarized application for the ballot. No person having been issued an absentee ballot may vote by any means other than that absentee ballot.
4. Anyone voting in somebody else's name or hindering the timely delivery of absentee ballots to the polling place or discouraging or hindering people's ability to get to the polls will be subject to prosecution for a felony with penalties fines and/or imprisonment.
5. Only properly registered persons living within the United States and/or its territories are eligible to vote.

COUNTING THE VOTE:
1. All interested parties must be allowed to have representatives present and able to observe the counting process. Those representatives must be allowed to remain until the counting is completed and will be given a certified document verifying what the final count is.
2. All ballots will be via paper ballots and hand counted. Counting will continue without interruption, even if people have to be replaced, until all ballots are counted and the results provided to the city or county officials as well as to the poll watchers.

Recognizing that for every rule, there can be necessary exceptions for truly valid reasons such as natural disasters or whatever, the above should insure that never again will any person have to wonder whether an election was stolen.

I think that is a great plan. But I would not agree with exceptions for natural disasters or whatever, because they used “whatever” during COVID as an excuse to rig the election for the Democrats.

If a natural disaster is that bad, postpone the election, but don’t change the rules.

If all those rules make it more difficult for some people to vote, it will effect some Republican people the same as some Democratic people and some Libertarian, Green, New Reform, CPUSA and whoever else. Good rules are good for everyone, except those who want to cheat.

A set of rules for honest election is like a diet or a budget: Almost any reasonable one will work, if the people implementing it stick to it.

 

[scruffy]

I like the conceptualization. There would seem to be some problems in practice. First of all we can't hand count 150 million ballots, that's not practical. Second we need to start with a clean slate so we need to force EVERYONE to re-register. And thirdly there ARE secure computer systems and mail in votes CAN be made secure. But good luck getting the Dems to shut up long enough to talk about it

 

[Foxfyre]

I like it.

I have a minor issue with item #4 under "Registration".

I would prefer to put the number of missed elections at two consecutive (or maybe even three) before removing someone from the rolls and requiring them to re-register.

In every instance, every person voting should have a state or federally issued ID in order to vote. If you don't have that, stay home...

It wasn't that long ago--I think it might have changed under Obama but certainly no earlier than Clinton--that if you didn't vote in either the primary or general election, you had to re-register in all states. You didn't have to vote in both but you had to vote in one of them. It wasn't that hard and it was a powerful incentive for responsible citizens to make the effort to vote. As mobile as our society is, and with the propensity of those willing to cheat in elections, two election cycles is just too long to clean up the voter rolls.

#4 under Registration should be amended. I get what you are driving at but missing one primary or election shouldnt require you to reregister. Multiple consecutive instances of not voting I think is likely more appropriate.

What is the fascination with hand counting? Why do people believe it is more accurate than the computer counting? Computers are better at certain things than humans. One of those things is counting.

I meant to say that you must vote in either the primary or general election to remain on the voter rolls and I have edited the OP to indicate that. You don't have to vote in both but just one of the two to keep your voter registration. Such was the law in all states all my life until fairly recently. It was a good law to keep the voter rolls cleaned up and current as much as possible, remove the dead or incapacitated people and so the election officials know how many eligible registered voters there actually are. Then if somehow the vote exceeds the legal registered voters, it will be immediately obvious that someone scammed the system.

 

[rightwinger]

We already have an honest vote

Show any US elections that have been fixed

 

[Foxfyre]

I think that is a great plan. But I would not agree with exceptions for natural disasters or whatever, because they used “whatever” during COVID as an excuse to rig the election for the Democrats.

If a natural disaster is that bad, postpone the election, but don’t change the rules.

If all those rules make it more difficult for some people to vote, it will effect some Republican people the same as some Democratic people and some Libertarian, Green, New Reform, CPUSA and whoever else. Good rules are good for everyone, except those who want to cheat.

A set of rules for honest election is like a diet or a budget: Almost any reasonable one will work, if the people implementing it stick to it.

Good point. The wording should be changed that if natural disaster or whatever situation makes it necessary, the election date can be moved to a later date not to exceed 48 hours after election day or some such with all security provisions to remain in place. That would be unlikely to force waiting on the outcome of an election except in very rare cases.

 

[Foxfyre]

We already have an honest vote

Show any US elections that have been fixed

Sorry, but I have personally witnessed with my own eyes that we don't.

 

[Jim H - VA USA]

Thumbs up for thinking and proposing solutions. We need a lot more people like you.

REGISTRATION:
All U.S. citizens who are not felons and who are sufficiently mentally competent to register to vote via their own intentional effort should go to the city or county clerk's office where they reside and:
1. Provide certified photo ID, proof of citizenship, proof of home residency, proof of age.

This can be done securely through the mail by mailing in copies of documents.

4. Any person not voting in either the primary or general election in any given election year will be dropped from the voter rolls and must re-register to vote.

I'm not so sure about that one. It works fine for me personally, but some people cast their opinion by not voting. Maybe calendar time would be better. At least a year.

5. Some provision will be made for those who otherwise qualify but cannot physically go to the city or county clerk's office to register but the registration must be taken by a person with the city or county clerk's office.

Mail is fine, as long as copies of identity documents are included.

It may not be practical for lots of people - military, etc.

5. Anyone falsifying his/her voter registration or knowingly accepting or creating fake registrations is subject to prosecution for a felony offense and, if convicted, will be subject to fine and/or imprisonment.

Duplicate 5 (should be 6). I think this is already universally the case.

ELECTIONS:

5. Only properly registered persons living within the United States and/or its territories are eligible to vote.

No. Citizens only. No foreign national legal residents!

Recognizing that for every rule, there can be necessary exceptions for truly valid reasons such as natural disasters or whatever, the above should insure that never again will any person have to wonder whether an election was stolen.

No changes to voting rules at all, without being passed by the duly-elected legislature!

Other ideas:

Mail-in voting by request only. Valid for only one election. Must provide a good reason.

A nationwide system to track voting by social security number, to ensure no one votes twice (knowingly or not). Can you believe we don't have this cross-checking? You can vote in California and Texas, and no one will know!

No ballot harvesting.

Can only vote if you pay federal income taxes. (Just kidding)

Regards,
Jim

 

[Canon Shooter]

It wasn't that long ago--I think it might have changed under Obama but certainly no earlier than Clinton--that if you didn't vote in either the primary or general election, you had to re-register in all states. You didn't have to vote in both but you had to vote in one of them. It wasn't that hard and it was a powerful incentive for responsible citizens to make the effort to vote. As mobile as our society is, and with the propensity of those willing to cheat in elections, two election cycles is just too long to clean up the voter rolls.

I meant to say that you must vote in either the primary or general election to remain on the voter rolls and I have edited the OP to indicate that. You don't have to vote in both but just one of the two to keep your voter registration. Such was the law in all states all my life until fairly recently. It was a good law to keep the voter rolls cleaned up and current as much as possible, remove the dead or incapacitated people and so the election officials know how many eligible registered voters there actually are. Then if somehow the vote exceeds the legal registered voters, it will be immediately obvious that someone scammed the system.

I can work with that...

 

[rightwinger]

Sorry, but I have personally witnessed with my own eyes that we don't.

Did you report it?
What exactly did you witness that accounts for voter fraud?

 

[Foxfyre]

#4 under Registration should be amended. I get what you are driving at but missing one primary or election shouldnt require you to reregister. Multiple consecutive instances of not voting I think is likely more appropriate.

What is the fascination with hand counting? Why do people believe it is more accurate than the computer counting? Computers are better at certain things than humans. One of those things is counting.

I responded to the first paragraph of your post in my post #8.

As to the second, hand counting with all interested parties able to agree on the count is necessary to have confidence in the system. Yes computers can count faster than people can on average, but if a recount for any reason was necessary, it can complicate things. And computers can be programmed to count any way the programmer wants it to count and the voter has no way to know if it has been rigged to favor any given candidate or if his/her vote was even counted.

Countries that have honest elections and hand count their ballots never require days, weeks, months to come to a final tally as we have seen time and time again in America.

 

[Crick]

Decades ago there was cheating and hanky panky in elections, but never did we have an electorate as suspicious and convinced of malfeasance or as fearful that elections can be stolen as we have now. Without faith that elections are fair and honest, it is unlikely that our constitutional republic will survive.

So I propose what I believe is a system/policy that, if implemented, will ensure roughly 99.9% honest and fair elections. Do you agree? If not please state your reason why it would be bad policy.

PHOTO ID:
Any person who is unable to secure a certified Driver's License w/photo or other valid photo ID may provide proof of citizenship and residence and apply for a free photo ID in the city or county where the person resides.

REGISTRATION:
All U.S. citizens who are not felons and who are sufficiently mentally competent to register to vote via their own intentional effort should go to the city or county clerk's office where they reside and:
1. Provide certified photo ID, proof of citizenship, proof of home residency, proof of age.
2. Anyone who moves out of his/her precinct must re-register in order to be allowed to vote.
3. Voter registration must be done 2 to 6 weeks prior to the election so that the person can be added to the official voter rolls.
4. Any person not voting in either the primary or general election in any given election year will be dropped from the voter rolls and must re-register to vote.
5. Some provision will be made for those who otherwise qualify but cannot physically go to the city or county clerk's office to register but the registration must be taken by a person with the city or county clerk's office.
5. Anyone falsifying his/her voter registration or knowingly accepting or creating fake registrations is subject to prosecution for a felony offense and, if convicted, will be subject to fine and/or imprisonment.

ELECTIONS:
1. All persons physically able must go to the polls in their assigned precinct personally and present positive certified photo ID and certify under oath that they live at the address shown on their voter registration. Early voting if allowed in any state may not exceed ten days prior to election day and must include all safeguards in place on election day.
2. Those who must or need to vote absentee will apply for an absentee ballot with a signed and notarized application.
3. The completed absentee ballot must be delivered to the precinct polling location no later than the close of the polls on election day. No ballots will be accepted from any source after the polls close. Every absentee ballot should be able to be matched with a notarized application for the ballot. No person having been issued an absentee ballot may vote by any means other than that absentee ballot.
4. Anyone voting in somebody else's name or hindering the timely delivery of absentee ballots to the polling place or discouraging or hindering people's ability to get to the polls will be subject to prosecution for a felony with penalties fines and/or imprisonment.
5. Only properly registered persons living within the United States and/or its territories are eligible to vote.

COUNTING THE VOTE:
1. All interested parties must be allowed to have representatives present and able to observe the counting process. Those representatives must be allowed to remain until the counting is completed and will be given a certified document verifying what the final count is.
2. All ballots will be via paper ballots and hand counted. Counting will continue without interruption, even if people have to be replaced, until all ballots are counted and the results provided to the city or county officials as well as to the poll watchers.

Recognizing that for every rule, there can be necessary exceptions for truly valid reasons such as natural disasters or whatever, the above should insure that never again will any person have to wonder whether an election was stolen.

Why should we do all that when there is no real risk of a compromised election? I say we pay the networks to produce an educational show that will explain all the safeguards already in place and explain all the ways we know there was no significant electoral fraud in the 2020 election. We advertise that on all channels for ten days prior and then show it three times, morning, noon and night. Anyone who still thinks that elections aren't valid can just skip voting and live with the consequences. Part of the social contract in a democracy is that without incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, we all assume that election results are valid and abide by them regardless of the results.
PS: Elections are run by the states and only eleven states permanently rescind voting rights for felons and even that is only for certain crimes.

 

[Foxfyre]

Did you report it?
What exactly did you witness that accounts for voter fraud?

I did report it. I have witnessed where a 'misplaced' ballot box was amazingly found just in time to reverse the vote in a close election and in that particular state that is not an uncommon occurrence. I have twice observed when people signing in at the poll reported that somebody recently deceased was signed in ahead of them. That state does not require Voter ID/Photo ID. Working at the polls I have handed ballots to people I just had a gut feeling were not who they claimed to be, but we were not allowed to ask for ID.

 

[CowboyTed]

Decades ago there was cheating and hanky panky in elections, but never did we have an electorate as suspicious and convinced of malfeasance or as fearful that elections can be stolen as we have now. Without faith that elections are fair and honest, it is unlikely that our constitutional republic will survive.

So I propose what I believe is a system/policy that, if implemented, will ensure roughly 99.9% honest and fair elections. Do you agree? If not please state your reason why it would be bad policy.

PHOTO ID:
Any person who is unable to secure a certified Driver's License w/photo or other valid photo ID may provide proof of citizenship and residence and apply for a free photo ID in the city or county where the person resides.

REGISTRATION:
All U.S. citizens who are not felons and who are sufficiently mentally competent to register to vote via their own intentional effort should go to the city or county clerk's office where they reside and:
1. Provide certified photo ID, proof of citizenship, proof of home residency, proof of age.
2. Anyone who moves out of his/her precinct must re-register in order to be allowed to vote.
3. Voter registration must be done 2 to 6 weeks prior to the election so that the person can be added to the official voter rolls.
4. Any person not voting in either the primary or general election in any given election year will be dropped from the voter rolls and must re-register to vote.
5. Some provision will be made for those who otherwise qualify but cannot physically go to the city or county clerk's office to register but the registration must be taken by a person with the city or county clerk's office.
5. Anyone falsifying his/her voter registration or knowingly accepting or creating fake registrations is subject to prosecution for a felony offense and, if convicted, will be subject to fine and/or imprisonment.

ELECTIONS:
1. All persons physically able must go to the polls in their assigned precinct personally and present positive certified photo ID and certify under oath that they live at the address shown on their voter registration. Early voting if allowed in any state may not exceed ten days prior to election day and must include all safeguards in place on election day.
2. Those who must or need to vote absentee will apply for an absentee ballot with a signed and notarized application.
3. The completed absentee ballot must be delivered to the precinct polling location no later than the close of the polls on election day. No ballots will be accepted from any source after the polls close. Every absentee ballot should be able to be matched with a notarized application for the ballot. No person having been issued an absentee ballot may vote by any means other than that absentee ballot.
4. Anyone voting in somebody else's name or hindering the timely delivery of absentee ballots to the polling place or discouraging or hindering people's ability to get to the polls will be subject to prosecution for a felony with penalties fines and/or imprisonment.
5. Only properly registered persons living within the United States and/or its territories are eligible to vote.

COUNTING THE VOTE:
1. All interested parties must be allowed to have representatives present and able to observe the counting process. Those representatives must be allowed to remain until the counting is completed and will be given a certified document verifying what the final count is.
2. All ballots will be via paper ballots and hand counted. Counting will continue without interruption, even if people have to be replaced, until all ballots are counted and the results provided to the city or county officials as well as to the poll watchers.

Recognizing that for every rule, there can be necessary exceptions for truly valid reasons such as natural disasters or whatever, the above should insure that never again will any person have to wonder whether an election was stolen.

So your solution to a non existent problem which has been manufactured by one side to suppress the vote, is to help suppress the vote...
No one has proven any thing close to mass voter fraud in an election...

I think you also forget one thing,

You have a right to vote....
That is in the constitution. You need a reason to take away that right and inventing a false problem doesn't count.

We know why GOP want it:

Trump says Republicans would ‘never’ be elected again if it was easier to vote

President dismissed Democratic-led push for voter reforms amid coronavirus pandemic during Fox & Friends appearance

www.theguardian.com

But it is a right...

Here are just one example of how disgusting your suggestions are here: "sufficiently mentally competent ". Who judges that... Many people on this forum have stated if you vote Democrats you are not sufficiently mentally competent. How does that work?

Where in the constitution does it claim that you can loose your right to vote if you don't participate? Let's be very clear the people who tried to suppress the vote in Selma... Please know a bit of history, know how people have had there vote suppressed and taken away from them in the past...
Please don't say this is a thing of the past... The people of Florida voted overwhelming to give past felons the right to vote... The GOP spent there time doing the most they can to stop those people being allowed to vote... This is today...


So your suggestions are pretty disgusting IMHO... They are to restrict voting not expand it... Where are the mandatory minimum voting places so everyone can vote especially in urban areas... Voting in other countries takes minutes, no queues, quick and easy... Mail in voting is popular highest democracies around the world.

GOP doesn't like loosing and instead of actually coming up with policies that the people want they want to corrupt democracy. Shame on you helping them

 

[Crick]

I responded to the first paragraph of your post in my post #8.

As to the second, hand counting with all interested parties able to agree on the count is necessary to have confidence in the system. Yes computers can count faster than people can on average, but if a recount for any reason was necessary, it can complicate things. And computers can be programmed to count any way the programmer wants it to count and the voter has no way to know if it has been rigged to favor any given candidate or if his/her vote was even counted.

Countries that have honest elections and hand count their ballots never require days, weeks, months to come to a final tally as we have seen time and time again in America.

And computers can count more accurately than humans. No evidence supporting any of Mike Lindell's or Sydney Powell's accusations of voting machine fraud has EVER been presented to a court of law.

 

[Foxfyre]

Why should we do all that when there is no real risk of a compromised election? I say we pay the networks to produce an educational show that will explain all the safeguards already in place and explain all the ways we know there was no significant electoral fraud in the 2020 election. We advertise that on all channels for ten days prior and then show it three times, morning, noon and night. Anyone who still thinks that elections aren't valid can just skip voting and live with the consequences. Part of the social contract in a democracy is that without incontrovertible evidence to the contrary, we all assume that election results are valid and abide by them regardless of the results.
PS: Elections are run by the states and only eleven states permanently rescind voting rights for felons and even that is only for certain crimes.

When millions of ballots were separated from their original signed envelopes or whatever, there was zero way to know whether they were valid or not. That and the huge variations between voter turn out in the 2020 election compared to all previous elections has destroyed the people's confidence in the system and process. I am suggesting a way to restore that and ensure honest elections.

IMO the only ones who would object to that are those who want their side to be able to cheat.