Shenanigans!

Y'all know I support Obama over Clinton, but if the facts reported by Fox's Steve Brown are true, I don't like this... I don't like it one bit:

In the end, of course, Hillary won Ohio, so this probably didn't matter (though I haven't looked at the district delegates). But whatever the facts of this particular situation, this business of judges arbitrarily ordering certain polling places to stay open later than others is a big, and growing, problem. (It would be an even bigger problem if we elected the president by popular vote. In fact, I may add something about this issue to my Electoral College paper.)

We need to improve the rules that are set up beforehand for dealing with contingencies like bad weather -- and then we need to stick with those rules. Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner is obviously wrong when she claims that "things like flooding and ice and bomb threats" are "things no one can predict." All you had to do is watch the Super Tuesday television coverage a few weeks back, when it was reported that tornadoes had literally destroyed polling places in Arkansas and Tennessee, to know that severe weather can disrupt voting. As for the foreseeability of election-day "bomb threats"... well, um, New York City had an election scheduled for September 11, 2001. 'Nuff said.

I'm not sure what the solution is to this problem, but the piecemeal system we have now is no good. It invites abuse by candidates and judicial activism by judges, and it will seriously erode whatever public confidence remains in our election system if it continues unchecked.

P.S. Oh, and I'm sick and tired of "ballot shortages." For heaven's sake, print three or four times as many ballots as you think you'll need. At this point, there's no reason for anyone ever to be "surprised" by high turnout. Heck, why not simply print any many ballots as there are registered voters? Surely ink and paper aren't that expensive these days, and the additional costs would be well worth it, IMHO, to avoid this constant drumbeat of "WE RAN OUT OF BALLOTS!!!" nonsense.

Comments

[Leanna Loomer]

How about if enough ballots were printed for every registered voter? Yes, I know, Joe Loy will point out the problems with this.

[PenguinSix]

Harold Washington...

That's what happens when 'every voter votes'. Take a look at the corruption in that race (100% turnout in some precincts).

But I do agree there should be a formalized procedure for extending votes in certain circumstances--but it should be formalized before the elections in a bipartisan manner so that it can be applied by a civil servant when needed and not politicized judges.