April 12, 2002
From the desk of Jane Galt:Well, except for Conrad Burns,
Well, except for Conrad Burns, who was the only senator to vote against a bill authorizing a lot of money and a standard system to clean up voting in federal elections so we don't have to live through another 2000. Among the key provisions:
¶If a person wants to vote but is not on the official list of eligible voters, the person must be allowed to cast a provisional ballot. The ballot would be counted if state or local officials confirmed that the person was eligible.¶Voting places must be accessible to people with disabilities. Disabled voters, including those who are blind, must be allowed to cast secret ballots.
¶A new federal agency would be a clearinghouse for information on election technology and would set the maximum "error rates" for equipment used in counting ballots.
¶Before casting their ballots, voters must have some way to verify their selections, to change their ballots and to correct any errors.
But Jane, I hear you cry, I thought you were a libertarian! Well, yes, I am, but that doesn't mean that I think government is free. And there are some areas, like voting, where the government has to set the rules because otherwise, well, who will? Choose-your-own-adventure type systems just won't cut it in the new millenium. So I'm glad we're getting rid of those ridiculous punch-card machines and setting some guidelines, because I think in this age of increasingly precise campaigning, we may need them sooner than later. Posted by Jane Galt at April 12, 2002 01:07 PM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound links