Dodd and Conyers Introducing Comprehensive Election Reform Legislation

Dodd and Conyers Introducing Comprehensive Election Reform Legislation

Interesting new but ultimately futile:

"Among other things, their legislation will provide for a nationwide federal write in/absentee ballot; require states to provide for a voter verified ballot; insure that provisional ballots cast anywhere in a state are counted; eliminate disparities in the allocation of voting machines and poll workers; mandate early voting and election day registration procedures; and protect against improper purging of registration lists in federal elections."

Of course, a Democratic election bill will go nowhere. But it's important because it contributes to the debate, and as such needs to be looked at seriously. I certainly hope whoever drafted it talked to some people who have actually administered elections - which seems not to have been the case with HAVA in 2002.

As some of you know I've worked in a local election office in Iowa for seven years. I see some things I like, especially on-day registration which I saw in my native Wisconsin and which worked well.

My biggest concern is with out of precinct provisional ballots. It may sound great, but a blanket statement like "a provisional ballot cast anywhere in the state of Ohio should count" seems to assume that president is the only office on the ballot. Voters in the wrong precinct are quite often in the wrong district for some other office. Should my vote for, say, a state legislator in a district in which I don't live be counted? Maybe my vote for President and US Senate should count, but how is an overwhelmed office supposed to administer this while still maintaining ballot secrecy?

There also needs to be some leeway for local officials to use their best judgement in allocating Election Day resources like workers and equipment. Certainly, these resources were malapportioned in parts of Ohio for partisan purposes, and that requires action. Conyers says his goal is "a set of uniform and non-discriminatory rules that respects all of our citizens' right to vote." This seems to assume that giving the locals any leeway open's the Pandora's box of partisanship, and that some sort of concrete formula is required. But seemingly objective statistics like past election returns and registration numbers may be misleading. A one-size-fits-all solution that fails to account for the considerable expertise of the folks on the ground will likely lead to empty booths and idle workers in some places and increased lines and waiting in others. It's a recipe for creating problems, not solvng them.

Fow now I'll withhold judgement till I look at a draft...

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