The Nation
December 8, 2004
"Guarantee the Right to Vote"
By John Nichols
As US Rep. John Conyers, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee,
chaired Tuesday's hearing on irregularities in the presidential voting in Ohio
on November 2, the Rev. Jesse Jackson warned that the session must be more than
merely an opportunity to "vent."
"We cannot vent and then have Congress not act. If these reports are not
investigated, we have all wasted our time," the two-time candidate for the
Democratic presidential nomination declared. "This cannot simply be an
academic venting session. Take this struggle to the streets and legitimize it
there, as they did in Selma."
Jackson is right. There is no question that the voting and ballot counting
processes in Ohio--and a number of other states--were deeply flawed. Those flaws
are well outlined in the letter that Conyers and eleven other Democratic
representatives sent earlier this month to Ohio Secretary of State Ken
Blackwell. (Click here
to read the letter and other recent communications from Conyers to state and
federal officials regarding the electoral troubles in Ohio.)
The letter, as well as testimony at today's hearing in Washington, makes a
convincing case for continuing the examination of the mess that Blackwell, a
Bush partisan, and his team made of the voting in Ohio on November 2.
Necessarily, that examination must include the full recount requested by Green
Party presidential candidate David Cobb and others.
But it is important to recognize that the sort of election problems that were
discussed at Tuesday's hearing are not isolated to Ohio--just as the problems
that came to light during the Florida recount fight of 2000 were not isolated to
the Sunshine State.
The United States lacks a coherent and consistent set of standards for
registering to vote, voting, counting ballots or recounting them. Thus, every
election cycle brings new instances of disenfranchisement and doubts about the
validity of the process.
On the eve of the Conyers hearing, the new group Progressive Democrats of
America released a well-reasoned list of electoral reforms which can and should
become central to the activism of everyone who is dissatisfied with the
process--and the result--of the November 2 election. PDA argues that America
needs:
* A Constitutional amendment confirming the right to vote.
* A required paper record for all electronic and electronically tabulated voting
systems.
* Same-day registration for all Americans.
* The creation of unified federal standards for national elections.
* Meaningful equal protection of voting rights by such means as equal voting
systems, equal numbers of machines, and equal time to vote.
* An end to partisan oversight of the electoral process.
* Extended voting periods to allow all voters a meaningful opportunity to vote.
* Instant Run-off Voting and Proportional Representation.
* Publicly financed elections for federal offices.
That's a long list. And the best place to begin is with the basics: guaranteeing
the right to vote.
During the Supreme Court deliberations in 2000 on the Bush v. Gore case that
ultimately determined the occupant of the White House, Justice Antonin Scalia
went out of his way to establish that the individual citizen has no federal
constitutional right to vote for the president of the United States. US Rep.
Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Illinois, has set out to rectify that glaring omission by
proposing an amendment to the Constitution that would cure a lot of what ails
our political process.
Here's the text of the amendment
SECTION 1. All citizens of the United States, who are eighteen years of age or
older, shall have the right to vote in any public election held in the
jurisdiction in which the citizen resides. The right to vote shall not be denied
or abridged by the United States, any State, or any other public or private
person or entity, except that the United States or any State may establish
regulations narrowly tailored to produce efficient and honest elections.
SECTION 2. Each State shall administer public elections in the State in
accordance with election performance standards established by the Congress. The
Congress shall reconsider such election performance standards at least once
every four years to determine if higher standards should be established to
reflect improvements in methods and practices regarding the administration of
elections.
SECTION 3. Each State shall provide any eligible voter the opportunity to
register and vote on the day of any public election.
SECTION 4. Each State and the District constituting the seat of Government of
the United States shall establish and abide by rules for appointing its
respective number of Electors. Such rules shall provide for the appointment of
Electors on the day designated by the Congress for holding an election for
President and Vice President and shall ensure that each Elector votes for the
candidate for President and Vice President who received a majority of the
popular vote in the State or District.
The right-to-vote amendment is not all the reform that is needed. But if the
goal of is to prevent future electoral fiascos--like Florida, Ohio or
elsewhere--it is a vehicle for getting started. After all, who, aside from
Antonin Scalia, would argue against the right to vote.
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