As Serious As It Gets

Sunday’s Duvafiles contained a post about the legislature overriding the Governor’s veto of bills affecting the voting process. Blair Lee writes in the Gazette about the possible abuses of the election process by allowing voters to vote early, poor control of absentee ballots and the use of provisional ballots.

The Washinton Post reports that electronic voting machines in Florida have been deliberately manipulated by
a county supervisor of elections (to test the system, not in an election). This shows another potential problem which we will face in November and in years to come.

The Maryland electoral (and political) process has always been rife with corruption. It used to be joke that the folks from Cook County (Chicago) came to Maryland to learn how to do it right. Walking around money and stuffing the box are “proud traditions” in the Free State. Unfortunately, if people don’t have faith in the electoral process they simply won’t vote.

Using the cloak of “voting rights”, the Democrat majority in the legislature now has new tools to keep Maryland a one party state. The solution is simple, go back to the previous system of requiring that voters vote in their assigned precincts and restrict access to absentee ballots. In addition, an official picture ID should be required to vote. If a voter cannot afford one, the state should subsidize its purchase (you don’t want the requirement overturned as a type of poll tax). In addition, each party should actively engage in ballot security. While many will scream that this is “voter intimidation”, nothing could be farther from the truth.

Voting is a right. But like many of our rights it must be defended and some effort is required in securing that right.