We Can And Should Improve The System

As we wait for overseas absentee ballots to arrive, legal maneuverings to end and official recount totals, there is a silver lining to the mess in Florida: Never has the nation been so engrossed in the political process.

High school government instructors and college political science professors must be grinning ear to ear.

Now, instead of facing sleepy-eyed students who can’t wait for the bell to ring, teachers are leading debates on the Electoral College. On who decides the election if Florida officials, politicians and judges can’t. On the importance of the U.S. Constitution. On the importance of a single vote. At home, citizens are glued to television sets and computers, trying to understand the differences among a “pregnant chad,” a “dimpled chad” and a “tri chad.” If this presidential election has taught us anything it’s that the adage is true - every vote counts. If one or two more Gore partisans per Florida precinct had voted, Vice President Al Gore would be preparing his inaugural address. The country wouldn’t be fretting about hand recounts or hanging chads.

Last Tuesday’s election also taught us that the system needs tweaking. Here are a few suggested changes:

Television networks ought to be reined in. No one will ever know how much damage the three major networks and CNN caused by awarding Florida to Gore more than an hour before polls in the state’s Republican panhandle closed. But an error of that magnitude should never be allowed to happen again. At least, the networks should be prevented from projecting a state’s winners until all its polls close.

The state of Washington should revisit the deadline for returning mail-in ballots. By allowing ballots to be postmarked as late as election day, the state set the stage for ballot counting to drag on and election results to remain elusive. In the Internet age, it’s absurd that Washington still doesn’t have a final unofficial count in the U.S. Senate race between incumbent Slade Gorton and challenger Maria Cantwell.

Election officials should consider standardizing the appearance of ballots and eliminating punch ballots. A standard ballot would limit confusion. A switch from punch ballots to marked ballots would reduce the chance of recount fraud in a close election. About 37 percent of the country currently uses punch ballots.

Finally, voters should take responsibility for their votes. If a ballot is confusing or a voter believes he or she improperly marked a ballot, they should ask for help immediately. Election officials should gladly provide instruction or a new ballot. The time to seek help with an unusual ballot, like Palm Beach County’s infamous butterfly ballot, is at the polls - not after the country reaches a stalemate on deciding who is to be the next president.