Voter Registration can be made easier, while still protecting us against fraud.

Remember the outrage that developed as we watched the events in Florida and realized the importance of a few votes as the election officials fought over every single hanging chad?

This, after numerous claims that qualified citizens had even been refused the right to vote.

Our new President entered office with the pledge that he would support legislation to assure that future elections would bend over backwards to make sure that every valid vote was counted properly and promptly. The Congress then responded with enactment of the Help America Vote Act (PL 107-252).

Yep, the rules were changed alright. But, how were they changed and who among us will they affect?

Based on my review of the text of the act as available at: http://www.fec.gov/hava/law_ext.txt, it seeks to establish firm control over what a citizen must provide to secure the right to vote in Federal elections, how records must be kept and compared with data that will justify removing voter's names from the official roster, all within an outline of who will be in charge of developing and establishing rules and spending the money needed to do this, while replacing the older type punch-card and lever operated voting machines.

I have no quarrel with any attempt to prevent fraudulent voting, as such practices are almost as undemocratic as schemes designed to prevent qualified voters from voting.

I found precious little about how we can assist citizens to more easily vote or to simplify the task of completing the voter registration application so that they can vote.

There is an area that authorizes a task group to investigate the potential use of technological advancements, including the use of the Internet, to assist all of the above but it too is directed more toward control of data, rather than ease of public use.

I believe we can all agree that we should be spending our public money wisely. No one should want to waste tax money on unnecessary or needlessly complicated effort when a simple or less expensive option that can produce the same - or a better - result is available.

Consider the offer of a Voter Registration Form on the Internet. With some exception, they are in a PDF format that must be downloaded through a printer and then filled in by hand.

What form of logic can possibly justify that act? Even a toddler can recognize that every action has a consequence! Even your cat can teach you that. Why then have those who are responsible for designing these forms not recognized that the use of them certainly requires processing action and a resulting consequence?

Why have they not designed this version of the form so that it can be completed with all necessary private information needed before it is downloaded through a printer? Such fillable versions of PDF form files are currently available from our lovable and helpful IRS that clearly reduces the effort needed to file and process our taxes. Why waste part of the tax money collected by these improved forms by not also using the same technique here?

I can't accept the concept that such forms are necessary to eliminate discrimination against those who don't own a computer or an account that can reach the Internet. Or, that since the person must still sign the application with a qualifying handwritten signature, they should also complete the rest of it by hand too. Most forms include text that clearly invites those who own a typewriter to use it. Well, I don't own a typewriter and I know a lot of other folks who don't either.

Are we the one's being discriminated against?

Will those reading this join me in voicing an encouragement to those in charge of this area of potential voter improvement, that they include this innovative feature on all future versions of State or Federal Voter Registration Forms that will be offered via the Internet?

This can be done via this address: nationalform.fec.gov

Then perhaps we can all use them to register via an easier to create and process document for the initial voter registration and to then change our address or name on the official record when such tasks are needed in the future.

Makes sense to my gang!

© Jerry Buerge 2Sept2003