Election Day has come and gone, and Republicans are now in control of both houses of Congress, as well as many of the governorships.
Last week, I discussed the many possibilities of a Congress controlled by the Republicans. Now I will focus on the many issues, the voting process and what can be done about them.
The first issue is that of having identification. Every state should require an individual to bring some form of identification when they should come up to vote (if they aren’t requiring it already). This requirement is the main line of defense when fighting voter fraud. And contrary to what some people claim, bringing an identification when going to vote is not discriminatory in any way. As long as it is a valid form of identification (e.g. driver’s license, credit card, debit card), then it will be accepted.
If you forget to bring your identification, then you have no one to blame but yourself. In addition, the election officers need to make sure the registry is signed by each voter (I’m not sure if every state also requires this method, and if they don’t require it, then they should). Thus, a valid photo identification is not only the responsibility of the individual wanting to vote, but also that of the election officers.
The next issue involves the schedule. In most states, the polls are open from 6 A.M. to 6 P.M. (some states might have different times). But regardless of the times set for voting, it is the responsibility of each and every vote to decide what time he or she plans to vote. Even if they have a busy schedule, each individual needs to set a time during Election Day to go vote. If someone shows up after the polls close, then it is that individual’s fault. As for how each state handles the hour when the polls close, it is usually done like this: an election officer will go to the back of the line and anyone standing in front of the election officer can still vote. Hence, those people will be the last ones to vote. And of course, should they not be able to vote on Election Day, they have the options of absentee ballots, early voting, etc. Planning ahead is the key.
Then there is the issue of the voter registry. There have been more than a few cases of dead people voting. Needless to say, each state needs to determine which of its registered voters are alive or dead, and the names of those voters who are deceased need to be removed from the registry.
Meanwhile, there have been various instances of people moving to different states, yet their names are still on the registry of the state they moved from. So updating the voter registry would solve that problem.
In fact, I think each state should be required to update their vote registry on an annual basis. It could be done at the beginning of the year, or (for those states that have early primaries) done in the aftermath of the previous year’s election.
In conclusion, all of these improvements would prevent voter fraud and ensure a fair and smooth voting process. Now it is up to all of the states to do it.
Image: http://journalistsresource.org/studies/politics/elections/voting-rights-related-issues-research-roundup/
