Who decides who gets to vote?
The individual states make the rules, but the actual Constitutional authority remains with the Federal government. The United States Constitution has given the Federal Government the authority to regulate the states in election matters. WinLoseorDraw has read on some less dependable venues that the Federal government “wants to end” states’ rights pertaining to elections. That is a politically motivated exaggeration. Generally, the Fed only steps in when a state crosses the line of appropriate behavior. The reason the federal government sometimes chooses to exercise its veto power is to prevent states from infringing on voter rights with excessive voter restrictions.
Here’s an observation: All legal citizens should be guaranteed ease and convenience of voting. That’s the American way. True, open access paves the way for some knuckleheads to vote, but fortunately knuckleheads have not, until recently, been known as dedicated voters.
A political battle is brewing between some of the states and the federal government, a battle that promises to boil over into unnecessary violence in the coming years.
As usual, the two biggest political parties are exacerbating the conflict by taking opposing positions without really looking for any meaningful compromise. In fact, they avoid compromise, because a meaningful compromise would not excite and rally their bases. The Democrats claim the Republicans are trying to deny basic voting rights to some of our citizens. The Republicans claim that the Democrats are packing the voting results with illegal and undesirable balloting. Without a meaningful compromise, the party that controls the White House and the Congress wins the battle, but the war continues.
Both sides ignore the two most important considerations: All legitimate citizens should be able to vote, and all citizens should have easy access to the ballot box. That again is the American way.
The Democrats want to make voting as easy as possible in order to increase the number of voters who might possibly vote their way. Republicans, especially in some states, want to make false claims about massive voter fraud in order to push through a variety of restrictions, many completely unrelated to properly identifying a voter as to citizenship, in order to inconvenience and eliminate some potential voters who are unemployed, incarcerated, and/or without reliable transportation.
It has long been known that the weather on a single day of balloting can often make a huge difference in the outcome.
Proposed solution: Stop having an election day. Instead, have an election month. The election month could be November. Furthermore, Let’s take December to certify the results. The next President could take office on New Year’s day.
By extending the voting period and adding a vote certification period we eliminate any problem with mail in ballots. During the month of December the losing side could double check as many as they like. That would eliminate the false claims of massive voter fraud that are being destructively hyped on bogus social media sites after the fact.
Just because you assert that claims of fraud are false does not make it true. The only reform needed is to minimize fraud, otherwise democracy itself is a fraud.
Here is an article from November 20, 2020.
https://www.dailysignal.com/2020/11/20/7-ways-the-2005-carter-baker-report-could-have-averted-problems-with-2020-election/
Richard: Thanks again for the thoughtful and helpful link. Before I outline the points made in the article, allow me to clarify my original statement slightly. WinLoseorDraw did not say, and would never say, that there is absolutely zero voter fraud in a national election. What was meant by the statement that “claims of fraud are false” is that the hyperbolic claims of the significance of any voter fraud is false. As the article you sited points out: “However, 70% of Republicans do not believe the 2020 election was free and fair, according to a Politico/Morning Consult poll. Before the election, just 35% of Republicans didn’t believe the election would be free and fair. The shift was different among Democrats, where 95% believed the election was free and fair afterward, compared with 52 who said the same before the election.” Obviously the issue has become a major political football and is contributing to the divisive nature of our current political discourse.
Having said that, WinLoseorDraw finds the article link you posted to be very useful and helpful. Here is an outline of the Report and the recommendations made:
Article title: 7 Ways the 2005 Carter-Baker Report Could Have Averted Problems With 2020 Election
“So many of the problems we’re now hearing about in the aftermath of the 2020 election could have been avoided had states heeded the advice of the Commission on Federal Election Reform.” Said the author.
1) Voter IDs
The Carter-Baker Commission called for voter ID standards nationwide in its 2005 report.
2) Mail-In and Absentee Voting Risks
Specifically, the report called on states to prohibit third parties or political operatives from collecting ballots—a practice commonly known as “ballot harvesting.”
However, this year, as mail-in voting veered into becoming a partisan issue, the Carter Center issued a statement promoting support for mail-in voting, but maintaining safeguards against ballot harvesting.
“The Carter-Baker Commission found that where safeguards for ballot integrity are in place—for example in Oregon, where the entire state has voted by mail since 1998—there was little evidence of voter fraud,” the Carter Center statement continued.
Carter himself is quoted in the press release saying, “I urge political leaders across the country to take immediate steps to expand vote-by-mail and other measures that can help protect the core of American democracy—the right of our citizens to vote.”
3) Avoiding Duplicate Registration Across State Lines
In Nevada, the Trump campaign asserts there were potentially thousands of out-of-state votes cast in one of the most closely contested states.
The Carter-Baker Commission report called for states to make it easier to track registered voters who move from one state to another to reduce duplication of registrations.
4) Election Observers for Integrity
In Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Nevada, Republicans have complained that qualified election observers have been prohibited from watching the counting.
The Carter-Baker Commission report stressed the need for election observers to maintain the integrity of the ballots.
5) Reliable Voting Machines
Voting machines have also been a significant issue in 2020, particularly in Michigan, as one county there flipped from Biden to Trump after a hand recount showed the machine count to be inaccurate.
The Carter-Baker Commission suggested that machines print out paper receipts for voters to verify their vote was accurately counted.
6) Media Calling Elections
On election night, Fox News Channel was the first to call the state of Arizona for Biden, prompting outrage in the Trump camp. Moreover, major media outlets have projected Biden to have won the election, even as vote counting and litigation continue.
7) Prosecuting Voter Fraud
The Carter-Baker Commission suggested that federal and state prosecutors should more aggressively monitor voter fraud.
“In July of even-numbered years, the U.S. Department of Justice should issue a public report on its investigations of election fraud,” the report says.
All good suggestions, and several state legislatures adopted aspects of the recommendations, particularly voter ID proposals. However, wait for it, Congress reportedly was “unenthusiastic about the report”. My point remains, the current political structure is unwilling to look for viable solutions to the problem. Both the Republicans and the Democrats are vested in continuing to argue about this issue.