Election Experts Call for Reform

The perfect election is an election in which none of the mistakes become public, political scientist R. Doug Lewis a featured panelist in "Chads, Dimples, and Butterflies: Fixing the Mechanics of Voting" told the ARCO Forum last night.

Lewis and other panelists stressed the innate flaws in the American election process.

"Elections look simple but they are incredibly complex," Lewis said. "We need to pay attention to the process itself."

The panel took place before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Bush v. Gore.

Associate Professor in Public Policy at the Kennedy School of Government David C. King moderated the panel as part of his newly-created to project to analyze problems in the American election system and examine potential improvements.

"We're at a moment in history where things will change," he said.

According to King, the ramifications of the current election crisis reach beyond America's borders.

"America is a laughing stock of most of the world because of the way we've run this election," he said.

The panelists agreed that many of the problems in America's current election system stem from preservation of archaic tabulation methods.

"This country has changed significantly, but the voting systems haven't adapted themselves to the changes," said Trevor Potter, the former chair and commissioner of the Federal Election Commission.

But panelists were skeptical about a total overhaul of the electoral process.

"We are looking not for a revolution in election laws, but an evolution," Lewis said.

Arkansas Secretary of State Sharon Priest expressed concern regarding the "slippery slope" that she said would result from a federal mandate in election proceedings.

"Congress needs to trust us a little bit more and give us time to look at this comprehensively," she said.

Lewis cited Florida's "imprecision in law" regarding what constitutes a vote and how recounts are handled as a prime source of America's electoral woes.

Even more important than reform of the tabulation process, Lewis said, is reform of the voting process.

"Election administration is the key to creating a system which people can trust and believe in," Potter said.

Panelists provided several alternative methods of administration, including mandatory electronic voting and voting over the Internet.

In addition to suggesting changes in election administration, panelists stressed the importance of increasing the number of eligible youth who vote.

"It's a disgrace that only one third of young people are turning out to vote," King said.

After the discussion, audience members watched demonstrations of electronic optical vote counting machines used in Massachusetts.

Other panel members included International Foundation for Election Systems President Richard Soudriette, Youth-e-Vote.net Director of Public Affairs and Government Relations Donald Tighe and Sacramento, California Registrar of Votes Ernest Hawkins.