NY Times Editorial on Electronic Voting and Partisan Gerrymandering

[La_Serpiente]

Fixing Democracy

The morning after the 2000 election, Americans woke up to a disturbing realization: our electoral system was too flawed to say with certainty who had won. Three years later, things may actually be worse. If this year's presidential election is at all close, there is every reason to believe that there will be another national trauma over who the rightful winner is, this time compounded by troubling new questions about the reliability of electronic voting machines.

This is no way to run a democracy.

Americans are rightly proud of their system of government, and eager to share it with the rest of the world. But the key principle behind it, that our leaders govern with the consent of the governed, requires a process that accurately translates the people's votes into political power. Too often, the system falls short. Throughout this presidential election year, we will be taking a close look at the mechanics of our democracy and highlighting aspects that cry out for reform. Among the key issues:

Voting Technology An accurate count of the votes cast is the sine qua non of a democracy, but one that continues to elude us. As now-discredited punch-card machines are being abandoned, there has been a shift to electronic voting machines with serious reliability problems of their own. Many critics, including computer scientists, have been sounding the alarm: through the efforts of a hacker on the outside or a malicious programmer on the inside, or through purely technical errors, these machines could misreport the votes cast.

more...

Fixing Democracy

Free Registration Required

[gristy]

1. Now THAT is a very long editorial and is great to see.

Since the editorial does not indicate an author, this must be from the editors themselves (though I imagine they have some ghostwriters) and will go on the left side of the editorial page. It is wonderfully, delectibly long and fires on all cylinders. THIS is going to make some people take notice if it is placed where I think it's going to be placed.

What a wonderful thing.

[Cassandra]

3. And it's the LEAD editorial on a Sunday morning!

Gail Collins is now the editorial page lead editor and she doesn't need a ghost writer; she writes very well. I don't always agree with her but I like when her rather distinctive voice comes through, although she is fairly serious here.

[Rose Siding]

2. Geeze, they've even got the Harris stuff that

Palast hit so hard. Awful late to the party but, Welcome.

[reprehensor]

4. Good catch!

[0007]

5. Thanks for the post - Great article, wish more American would read it!

6. Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

Exactly what I wanted to see a year ago!!!

Dan
"The lungs behind BBV"

[Kat45]

7. Great article! I hope lots of folks read it.

[shance]

8. Be sure to send it out to friends and family!***

n/t

[KT2000]

9. Electoral College

the gerrymandered states will deliver the electoral college for Bush.