Tuesday, Nov. 7, is Election Day. Shockingly neglected given their importance to our society and our nation, our votes are literally the reins with which we direct society. But elections and the entire democratic process are in a sad state. Every election year there are substantial accusations of voter fraud, such as Florida’s hanging chad fiasco in 2000, and every year a new travesty mars the democratic process.
For instance, in the past year alone, Reps. Randall Cunningham, Tom DeLay and Mark Foley all resigned from the House of Representatives amid criminal accusations.
Such a level of corruption in Congress is insufferable, but it’s not surprising. As a society, we practically ignore Election Day, particularly in years between presidential elections.
Election Day is not recognized as it should be-the cornerstone of our democratic government. We don’t even take the day off, nor is there a period leading up to Election Day where we as a society focus on gathering information and making the best decision possible in the election.
And our government suffers. Even officials who are not criminal may be unfit for their appointed duties. Sen. Ted Stevens, president pro tempore and chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, once claimed that “an Internet was sent by my staff” and described the Internet as “a series of tubes.”
Given the obvious level of corruption and incompetence in our elected officials and how vital an informed, well thought-out vote is to good government, there clearly should be a greater societal focus on ensuring that voting is well thought-out and informed.
Creating a formal period for research and reflection will encourage the populace as a whole to vote wisely, but in its absence individuals can still put aside time to research and discuss the best options with each other. Not only can we discuss these matters face to face, the Internet with its forums and millions of blogs allow us to share and discuss our opinions with potentially millions of our fellow citizens.
The Internet also allows us to access a huge variety of news sources-from blogs to Fox News to The Economist-through news aggregators such as Google and Yahoo News, slashdot.org and digg.com.
This research makes it very easy to see if Congress fulfills its duties, promises and oaths. For instance, Senate Bill 3930, the Military Commissions Act of 2006 recently passed by Congress, revokes writ of habeus corpus, an action Congress cannot take according to the Constitution “unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion,” neither of which is occurring. Since any legislator supporting the action has violated his or her oath of office “to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” it’s necessary to rule them out as acceptable candidates.
For Mississippians this means that Sens. Lott and Cochran, as well as Reps. Roger Wicker, Gene Taylor and Chip Pickering are unsuitable for office and should not be re-elected for their clear contempt of the Constitution, their oaths to it and their belief that they can violate their oaths at will with no repercussions.
Of course, voter fraud can still skew elections no matter how thoughtfully the populace votes. The first line of defense against voter fraud is the voters themselves and the elected officials that supervise the elections.
The voters should spend time researching all candidates, and election officials are particularly important since they have the potential to alter the vote. However, today’s elections are vulnerable to a more subtle fraud via electronic voting machines.
Because electronic voting machines eliminate the paper trail, their results are difficult if not impossible to check. Furthermore, many voting machine companies, such as Diebold, refuse to allow voters access to the computer codes that govern their behavior. In other words, the company deliberately hides how the computer counts votes and protects itself from tampering – making such machines untrustworthy no matter who certifies them.
Moreover, Diebold’s machines have a history of inaccuracy and failure, illustrated by Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., insisting that the machines not be used in the upcoming election. Since most of the districts in Mississippi also use electronic voting machines, it is best to submit votes by absentee ballots.
In less than a month, we vote for our servants in government. We must take the time to choose wisely.