Tom Brokaw's idea for an overhaul of the election process...

Okay, those of us who know about voting or have voted in any election know how it works: you are assigned a polling place and a time to go. It's a relatively narrow window considering the population of potential voters in a nation with 300 million people in it.

You go in, they hand you a voting card, you slide this card into a slot, you are given a poker (replaced with a small marking tool thanks to Dangling Chad), and you thumb through this book and vote accordingly. You leave the polling place slightly better than confused, and you go home and watch the election results come in on tv.

Heaven forbid that you work late that day.

So Tom brought up a great idea last night on Conan. I'm sure he's expressed it before, but this is the first time I've heard it. He said let everyone vote with a card. I guess that would come in the mail like your voting pamphlet does nowadays.

Anyway, this card can be used at a kiosk in a myriad of places like malls, stadiums, University Campuses, etc. with a paper back up. I mean, if I can go down the street - I did this today - if I can go down the street, buy gas on my debit card, pull out my iphone and go to my bank website and see instantly that my balance reflects the purchase I just made, then the technology is there and sound enough to handle such a voting proposition.

Moreover, he says it would be done from 4pm eastern time and 9am pacific islander time on a friday all the way through sunday. Then, only after you have two or three days to vote do they tabulate the actual vote instead of some exit poll bullshit that handed bush the election in 2000 when it wasn't his win. That way, people like me who have to make the choice of saying "Hmmm, stay at work these two hours and make 80 bucks, or go vote right now?" would not be forced behind a rock and a hard place. We can vote on a day we're not working, or during a time we're not working.

I'mma go look on the web and see if this idea is fleshed out some more.


Your thoughts.

 

In the county I live in we have early voting. Three weeks before election day for two weeks you can go one of any of the voting locations throughout the county and vote. Then, for some reason, they take a week off before election. Then you have election day as your last chance to vote. I like it. The lines are usually not very long, if there are any lines at all and you can go when you get a chance without feeling rushed.

 

The state in which I live has already joined thecoalition to end the electoral college process and elect presidents by individual vote majority. New Jersey is considering it now. If enough states agree, it will happen.

Not that I believe elections are fair now or would be then...

 

the problem with any electronic election is that it is so much easier to hack it and i don't want to make it easier for my vote to be stolen. polling places are so numerous that there aren't all that many votes to count anyway when a paper ballot is used. of course as we learned from the NH primary there can be deception there too. having two weeks to vote sounds like a great idea and so does getting rid of the electoral college. the electoral college was created when communication was slow and difficult and carried on horseback. we just don't need it anymore and haven't since the telephone came into use.

 

who cares? the core failure of democracy is that the vast majority of people are idiots. I fail to see how a reform aimed at increasing the involvement of people too dumb to work a pencil is supposed to improve the process.

If anything they should be making it harder to vote

 

what are you basing your opinion on?

 

my antipathy for everyone but myself.