Toward a new Federal Elections Standards Act

[many a good man]

Today's historic challenge to the electoral system is a springboard to action.

Ongoing investigations into the "irregularities" in Ohio and elsewhere must be renewed with vigor. The problems must be detailed and a bold plan of action to fix the system and restore confidence in the world's oldest democracy must be proposed.

Elections must be federalized and standardized and brought to the highest level of integrity and transparency of any nation on earth.

A new federal Act to overhaul the entire nation's voting system must be undertaken. A transparent, secure, redundant electronic system should be designed and gradually deployed in each and every precinct in the nation. The total cost will only be the equivalent of a couple of weeks of the Iraq war.

It can evade constitutional issues because it will be ostensibly for FEDERAL elections, but can be used for state and local level races as well.

This is an issue Democrats can run with. Americans want to be the "best" nation on earth so its time we started doing something about it. How can we tell other nations to become democratic when we are so flawed?

The framing on this issue is can't-lose -- "Tell me, Mr. Republican, WHY ARE YOU OPPOSED TO CLEAN ELECTIONS??? Why do you want America to be a second-rate democracy??? What are you afraid of - that you can't win a fair fight???"

Now let's get down to work!

[In Truth We Trust]

1. Paper ballots NOW!!!! Hand counts Now!!!!!

[many a good man]

2. e-Voting CAN be made to work

with state-of-the-art security guidelines stringently enforced, open-source software, triple redundancey, etc., it CAN be made better than paper only. It is superior in terms of usability for the disabled and non-English speakers. It can more smoothly handle the large number of races common today.

But you're right. The paper one is the official "ballot" in a legal sense. We must insist on nothing less.