Reply #14: MD: Paper-Trail Politics [View All]

[Wilms]

Paper-Trail Politics

Monday, February 20, 2006; Page A20

AFTER DAWDLING for a good two years and defending a certifiably untrustworthy voting process in Maryland, Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) announced last week that he, too, has lost confidence in the state's ability to conduct fair and secure elections this fall. A curiously tardy call, Governor, but welcome aboard: Time is short, but now an all-out effort to clean up the system before the elections can and should begin.

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Instead of picking up on Mr. Ehrlich's change of heart, some Democratic leaders changed their political tune. They are now belittling the main problem. As reported by The Post's Ann E. Marimow, Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert) charged that Mr. Ehrlich's comments were an attempt to "create confusion and chaos" to dissuade the General Assembly from moving ahead on early voting. Oh, maybe; but if the Democrats are serious about creating trust in the system for this year's elections, and if Mr. Ehrlich really is on the same page, five additional days of voting shouldn't be an insurmountable hurdle. If the five-day voting initiative did develop preparation difficulties of its own, it might have to be postponed, as Mr. Ehrlich has urged. Similarly, costs of retooling might put some limitations on how much could be done by fall.

Still, machines that produce paper trails are a must. The political dickering and dueling that compounded this mess has got to be cut short. The integrity of Maryland's voting process is at stake. It must not be imperiled as voters prepare to record their preferences in some of the most important state and local elections in years.


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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/19/AR2006021901155.html