It seems that the Republican party has no bottom to its fear and depravity. It is lashing out with any dirty trick it can.....right in front of our faces. As an old hippy, i'm aghast watching these low life's try to take away the basic right of a democratic citizen....the right to vote....and the Supreme Court.....no longer Supreme or Just.....simply partisan conservative rubber stamp, gutted the voting act and passed citizens united, which has totally destroyed gov't of the people to gov't of the special interest's. It's hard to believe this is now America. Nothing Pubtard's do to retain power will shock me....but i will stand and fight these coward's with my vote and anything else i must do. Throw the bum's out once and for all. They don't care about you. They don't care about democracy. All they care about and fear is a nasty tweet from our boorish oaf. Period.
5
Universal vote-by-mail is very helpful to many, but it can be highly problematic for communities without stable addresses, for example, those in Native American communities. For examples, see https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/Minority_Voting_Access_2018.pdf at pp. 181-83.
1
good piece but you left out THE single biggest reason we now have abjectly un-democraric; too much dark, anonymous, dirty filthy money in politics.
the vile disgusting members of the ultra-rich who play darm money politics dont even have to attach their names to their vile beliefs. good old status-quo suckup scalia made sure of that.
overturn citizens united and it'll with stroke of a democratic pen, go way farther to undo the abominations done to this country post-citizens than these ballot measures would.
4
There will be no democracy if the Senate continues to pack the courts with ultra-conservative judges. David Leonhardt please write about this. The right to vote can be enhanced or severely diminished through court rulings.
6
I would like to see all the people parroting the claims of voter fraud to volunteer to be poll workers. They would soon discover that fraud is virtually non-existent and that poll workers of all stripes work diligently to simply count the votes.
The real threat to our democracy is voter suppression. These tactics are a-dime-a-dozen and still affect our predominantly low-income communities at a much greater rate than, say, their rich suburban counterparts. It is disturbing to see people in line for hours to vote when I have always been able to vote in a few minutes.
It is also disturbing to see a governor, running for office, file suit to prevent every vote from being counted when he presided over having inadequate voting procedures in his state in the first place.
My wish list would be to make it illegal to run for office within a year of supervising elections in any way. I would also applaud federal legislation to take certain voter suppression tactics off the books. If I don't have to produce an ID with a residential address in Massachusetts, then no one in North Dakota should have to produce one. Another common sense law would be to mandate that no polling place should serve more than, say 120% of the national average number of voters. If the average number of registered voters served by polling places nationwide is 1,500, then Dodge City shouldn't be allowed to have one voting place for 13,000. More democracy not less.
8
"If you’re old enough to operate a lethal two-ton vehicle, you’re old enough to have a say in your community’s future." That's as big a non sequitur as I've seen in a David Leonhardt article.
How is eligibility for driving linked, logically, to participating in political processes? It might make more sense to link the voting age to the age of legal alcohol drinking (18 in some states, 21 in others), where judgment is involved.
My first Letter to the Editor was published when I was in my early teens; since that demonstrated concern about politics and governance, shouldn't it, rather than minimal mastery of a large machine, have earned me the right to vote?
Oregon when you get a drivers license or Oregon ID card you are registered to vote. My wife voted for the very first time, at age 64, because she was sent a ballot.
2
Why is it that pro-democracy only happens when Democrats are elected? I love and cherish the freedoms and rights this country gives ALL citizens and want the system to work for everyone. Nobody wants to suppress votes but we don't want illegal or fraudulent votes either. I want a fair and honest system that every single American can be proud of, not the laughing stock of the world with all the accusations being lobbed back and forth. How about let's adopt a system like Iraq where there is no absentee, no early voting. Everybody votes on one day, anywhere there is a polling place and then stick our thumb in ink to prove we voted (and prevent us from voting twice..and prevent the dead from voting).
Does it strike anyone as odd that every time we do a "re-count", the voting counts change? Why is it not correct the first time? Why can votes be thrown out, declared invalid, voting places shut down while people are still waiting to vote? The voting citizen and their ballot doesn't get the respect deserved. On the other hand, most states make sure your tax obligation is paid on time.
Our voting system should be as solid, accurate, precise, and fully audit-able as those that process our money.
We have banking systems that will allow me to verify that when I add $102 into my account in Florida, Georgia, Arizona, or any other state, I have added exactly $102 to my account. Banks generally try to make the effort to make it easier for me to deposit and manage my money. They don't close branches or force long lines for depositors. In the privacy of my own home I can look into the bank's database at my account, and verify my check for $102 that has my signature, and see it was counted as exactly $102.
If we disrespected the handling of money as much as many levels of government disrespect our right to vote, capitalism as we've known it would be dead as rocks. I am certain that those same states that are disrespecting the voters and their ballots go to much greater lengths to be certain those same voters have paid their correct amount in taxes.
It's long past time to implement a nationwide voting system that gets everyone's vote tabulated correctly on time.
3
I'd like to see increased participation as much as anyone. . But no discussion of this topic is complete without mentioning our desperate need for a renewed emphasis on civics education. With endless studies that show widespread ignorance about even the most basic aspects of how our nation's governing structure was designed, I'm less than eager to put more ignorant people in positions of influence.
1
This is hopeful. Plus, I notice they ain't afraid of the rain!
1
I wonder if the states that allow people to vote early have increased voters.
If republicans believed in democracy they would not have spent the night of President Obama's inauguration plotting sedition in the basement of that steak house.
If republicans believed in democracy they would not have impeached Bill Clinton, who had arguably the most successful republican administration of the 20th Century.
If republicans believed in democracy voting would be easier than getting a concealed carry permit.
If republicans believed in democracy the koch bothers would be just another couple of old rich guys paying their fair share of taxes and following the rules like everyone else.
If republicans believed in democracy there would be very few republicans in public office.
But they don't believe in democracy so it will be up to We the People to remove them from the halls of power and reinstate the Constitution back to its rightful place. Right after We bring it up to date.
7
Spot on, but it is going to take a Constitutional Amendment to restore full voting rights in this country.
No private money in elections.
Repeal Citizens United
Federal elections only, even years, local and state in odd years.
No primary elections. One election per year. That's it.
Election day is a federal holiday
Automatic registration at age 18 as an independent.
No electronic or computer voting machines
All voting must be by paper for a recount.
Abolish the electoral college
No voter ID or any other law to limit voting. Period.
Every state has early voting by mail
All ballots uniform across the country (no butterfly ballots)
No calling of elections before 100% of the vote is counted
Adequate supply of voting machines/ballots and staff at every polling place in the country.
Polls open 6 AM - 12 AM
State secretary in charge of voting must have no connection, politically, financially, family or otherwise to any party or candidate. A public servant. Period. They may only run for office if they resign as secretary of state.
No negative attack ads. Only ads must be about the candidate/party ideas, goals, wishes, actions, and not at all about their opponent(s).
Remove all state restrictions to third parties and candidates
4
Democrats in South Florida their stronghold voting at some 42% while Republican strongholds voted at some 72% which has resulted in a Republican Governor and Senator. These republicans will not expand medicare so 800,000 folks wil not get health care perhaps many of those democrats who did not vote. Scott in the senate will be a flunky for Trump to make sure unethical liberals are punished while pure white Christian republicans will get what they want. Politics in a democracy decides who gets what and republicans out vote democrats and use their power to stay in power. Voting should be made easier for many democrat voters as opposed to republicans who desire to suppress the vote as demographics are not in their favor Trump may be their last gasp at power. Trump may not be able to win in 2020 after his malfeasance is made public and his act gets tired and the GOP starts to walk away from him and his tweets.
2
In Australia an independent Electoral Commission eliminates gerrymandering, voter suppression, and works to make registration and voting as easy as possible. National voter registers mean you can vote anywhere in the country in person on election day (Saturday) or even in overseas embassies. Advertisements in the lead up to elections advise on pre poll or postal voting.
While very close votes result in a recount, the checking of ballot papers by scrutineers of major parties is only to make sure the votes are being accurately counted.
Compulsory voting (Note: you just collect a ballot paper, not necessarily fill it in) is accepted by a very large majority as a citizens duty. While a 95% turnout at elections is driven by this, it's worth noting that in a non compulsory, non binding postal plebiscite last year 86% voted. There's a party atmosphere at voting stations on election Saturdays: sausage & onion sandwiches (called “democracy sausages”) and school cake stalls.
The USA copied the idea of secret ballots from us (you once called them “Australian ballots”). Try some of our other ideas.
1
Yes. Remove the hurdles. Begin lawsuits against Secretary of States, (Kansas), pass state laws ensuring equal voting rights, (Kansas), impose penalties against states and local governments that provide only one polling place out of town to discourage voting, (Kansas). Assist our great First Americans with a Tribal Address that will serve as legal address for voting purposes, (Kansas and Dakotas, and every Tribal Nation State), pass state laws that allow 10-weekend early voting. Eventually, let's stay at home and vote on our pc/cellphone, with finger prints match.
2
How dare you suggest that we allow free elections to be held in America? Clearly Trump and his sycophants believe otherwise and we all know Trump is, "like a genius" so we can dispense with voting altogether and just allow Trump's brilliance to guide us instead. What a cowardly loser.
1
As I write this, Republicans in Florida are pushing to not count the mail in ballots of citizens in the military.
4
What nonsense. Voting was very hard in New York City, and it had nothing to do with Republicans. Maybe you should seriously look at all of the states in which voting is "hard" and honestly report on whether the state or locality is Democrat or Republican. Start with New York.
Dave you are once again applying the liberal short sighted view of the midterm results. You might have noticed, there was no blue wave, not even a ripple. The historical truth simply held fast. There was a shift in power in the House, which has already been offset by the assumption of leadership by "obstructionist Palois" This explains much of the Democratic Parties legislative failures---Self serving Leadership.
Dave, Here is reality from "the man on the street". This view is not regional, but rather comes from South, Southwest, Midwest, and Middle Atlantic states. It is repeated over and over in every bar, supermarket, little league and especially NCAA and NFL event. America is in no way interested in SOCIALISM----The DNC has sold out to the left and have left the electorate along with many old line democrats behind.
That's reality Dave, and unless the DNC takes a drastic to the right 2020 will simply be a repeat of 2016.
"Leaders of the Republican Party — out of a fear of the popular will — keep trying to make voting harder..."
Republican voters whom I know don't have a problem with this either...because Republican pols & their permanent propaganda machine have been very successful at brainwashing.
2
The American success in economics or in politics has come from holding back and fending off the Government, and limiting its powers to influence people’s lives. Whenever the Government becomes too powerful and influential, we will be marching down the road to authoritarianism. This is what should worry all Americans about the Democrats in power. With their love for big-government─ and a huge, taxpayer funded, unelected and unaccountable bureaucracy that it needs to impose its will on the people. This is the natural connection that Democrats and fascism.
This would be more convincing if it wasn't so clearly biased. Where were all the complaints when the Democrats were winning elections?
I'm astounded that people complain about waiting in line to vote. As if that cannot be, as if it must be somehow as convenient as turning on your TV set. While some states do not have early voting, few that I know of, they all have absentee voting. Couldn't be easier, if that's what you want to do. However, most I know still want to vote on election day. When we make that decision, we may wait in line. Sometimes for a while. I waited 1.5 hours to vote on election day and do not believe anyone was suppressing me or my vote. I decided to vote on election day and that was my decision. To imply that it's too onerous is to act as if voting is not a big deal, should be as convenient as ordering pizza on a smart phone? Nope, cannot agree.
There have been some positive developments for democracy, but one election is not enough. There are forces in this country, backed by billionaires like Charles Koch and Richard Scaife, who want to eliminate democracy, because it gets in the way of what they perceive as their property rights. They consider themselves to be the victims of the majority. They want to change the Constitution itself to give the moneyed property owners supremacy. We already see this in Supreme Court justices they have had installed. A Nobel laureate economist named James Buchanan has concocted a theoretical basis for the desired kleptocracy. This must be exposed for what it is, in a way that goes beyond political party, ASAP.
There is good no reason to stand in line on election day. There a many options to make voting easy and foolproof. Early voting, voting on weekends, mail voting (with automatic notification if a signature is suspect and needs to be verified), voting via internet with unique pass codes, etc. etc.
In this day and age, nobody should be required to miss work (and lose pay) just to vote.
1
Great! So this means that our government "representatives", now paid off by the 1% to get ever more "bodies" across our borders to insure a steady supply of slave wage labor and that the GDP goes up despite increasing inequality, will actually start enforcing our immigration laws and reduce legal immigration to 200,000 per year as decades of polls have indicated is the will of the democratic majority?
1
This anti-democracy agenda is not just being pushed by Republicans.
Large corporations who are literally writing our laws and lobbying our (Republican AND Democrat) officials to follow their will instead of the people’s.
You can add polling places, do vote by mail, reducing gerrymandering, etc. but as long as elected officials receive millions of dollars from corporations they’ll vote for them over their citizens.
What about an independent office like CBO that rates senators and congressman on their votes vs the desired votes by lobbyists? Basically, giving them a grade on how much they actually represent their constituents.
1
An election official in Indiana said they decided to count the absentee ballots this year. In 2016 they were too busy to open them before 6 PM on Election Day so they chose to ignore them.
What the Fed Government can do is to standardize election laws. This easier than it sounds. Separate Fed elections from local elections, accept all sorts of valid id, provide FREE voter ids for those who cannot get them otherwise. Run the voter polls.
States can run their elections however they want.
But, if the states agree to the Fed rules, the Fed will help with the costs. If not, the Feds will pay for the Fed elections, the States for everything local.
No doubt, it will be like Medicare. The Blue States will accept, the Red States would rather not.
Also, why Tuesday? Surely a weekend day would be easier for voters (who are the people we’re trying to increase here). Plus, is there some reason absentee ballots are so limited ( I got to vote only for my senator and congresswoman)? No doubt there are a lot of people who know nothing about lower offices, but that doesn’t stop them from voting, if they can cast their ballots in person. I believe that also varies by state. Gov. Cuomo??
I agree with you in almost every respect, Mr. Leonhardt. But not every 16-year-old is responsible enough to operate a lethal multi-ton vehicle -- actually, the same could be said for a number of people well over the age of 16! -- that's why we have a licensing process, which we don't, shouldn't, and can't have for voting. Comparisons based on "if you're old enough to x, you're old enough to y" generally generate more heat than light. If you have a better argument for lowering the voting age to 16, though, I'd be happy to entertain it.
1
In the Alabama special election for Senate, Democrat Doug Jones won 50% to 48%.
If those same votes had been counted for the House of Representatives, there would have been 6 Republican winners and 1 Democratic winner.
2
Too bad people in NYC who want to vote early don't, also this election had the highest turnout for a Mid-term ever, all those people came out to vote so Nancy Pelosi could run things? Says a lot about our "Democracy"
What a farce this so called "democracy" is! a mosaic of antiquated systems across different states, lack of uniformity, machines that do not work, election officials closing down polling stations an sending voters wrongi information/addresses (Kansas, Georgia), Commissioner of Elections supervising his own election for governor (Georgia), efforts to discourage counting of all votes in close races (Florida), and a President claiming "fraud" when his party stands to lose.
I have dual citizenship and at election time I long for the European system : Election day typically is a Sunday or other holiday to make it easy for people to exercise their civic duty; easy access to polling sites, usually in schools; an election campaign limited to 10 days where every party gets equal free media time (radio, TV) thus eliminating the nefarious power of money.
Time to revamp this system in the USA by eliminating the electoral college, achieving universal uniformity, instituting mail-in voting across the nation, and getting rid of self-serving Jim Crow style requirements that should no longer have a place in a moderrn, truly democratic, society
2
It is bizarre that a country that seemingly can never tire of extolling the virtues of democracy is so hostile to the act of voting.
Is there a democratic nation that makes voting more difficult than the United States? Is there a developed country where people have to line up for hours to vote (or where voting takes place on a weekday?) Is there a developed country where so much work goes into disenfranchising ethnic minorities, or making it exceedingly difficult for them to vote?
We've invaded countries under the rubric of bringing the glories of democracy to their shores, but at home? Oh boy. What major hypocrisy.
By the way, it is major malpractice on the part of the Democratic party that they haven't been screaming about voter suppression and the difficulty of voting in the United States. Democrats would likely benefit immensely if more people voted, and if voter suppression came to an end...this has been happening for ages (more so now that the Voting Rights Act has been gutted), and yet? This ought to be one of their principal calls to arms...and nothing.
1
To those that voted. Thanks!
To those that did not. Please vote next time.
2
The GOP specializes in amassing power and subverting the will of the majority of voters and voting isn't enough. People need: to fight states that gerrymander and decertify legal voters by putting them on "nonactive voter lists” (OH, GA, etc.); Force Congress to hold public hearings about dark/foreign money from the Saudis, UAE, Russians—used to break laws (NRA/Trump Campaign/2016 election); Fight voter ID rules that target poor, elderly, minority voters; Adequately fund districts to ensure enough polling sites, ballots, open hours, and working equipment to meet voters; Ensure by federal law that when people register or renew their drivers license there are automatically registered to vote; Reverse laws that make it illegal to mail in sealed ballots (AZ); Enable recount petitions to be filed and entered in court especially if vote tampering evidence is presented (MI, FL); Ensure every vote cast is counted as cast and there's a paper trail; Take Russian hacking validated by 17 U.S. intel agencies seriously and demand Congress adequately protect the nation's voting systems; Prevent partisan Sec. of States running for office to count votes (Kris Kobach, KS, Karen Handel/Kemp, GA). Retire electronic voting systems and vote counting software made-and-controlled by private manufacturers, and use a nationwide paper ballot system---counted in public as other advanced countries do. We need a voting rights and integrity commission to oversee a uniform system/administration of the law.
3
@Ann,
Like Germany’s Nazis “national socialists,” Russia’s V.I Lenin’s Bolshevism, and Stalinism, Mussolini Italian Fascism, People’s Republic China’s Mao-Zedong’s Maoism, were all run by vast system of government bureaucracy. All were from the political left. All these Autocratic systems believed in all-powerful big governments would create a “new person” with their ideological obsession for “equality” and, the production and redistribution of all wealth. All of these system began as left-wing, worker or as labor movements─ wearing humanistic mask, just like our Democratic party.
1
You have got to be kidding. Naziism was not left wing. It was racial superiority at its worst. Things that are far let and totalitarian make the circle to be right wing. All those parities overthrew elected majorities by force to control people and eliminate all adversaries. As The Who said “the party on the left becomes the party on the right.” It just rides a populist wave on the back of a tiger. Was Iran a left wing movement at least one you were there for might clarify it.
1
Thank you Leonhardt, for this focus. Lowering the voting age is a great idea. Wouldn't it be something if everyone who passes their class in Civics, or in Government, automatically was registered.
I worry about the funding of elections, the makers of the machinery, the training of poll workers, most especially under Republican governors and secretaries of state. I want to see investigative reporting on election budgets, organization and management in every state.
I will be asking my federal and state reps to focus on voting budgets and implementation. My list of concerns to date—please add to these:
Voting laws
Automatic registration at eighteen
Election Day should be a holiday
One polling place for every 5,000 voters.
Voters require a physical receipt or ballot stub after voting.
Eliminate electronic voting machines without receipts to be phased out.
Candidates for office cannot own shares in voting machine industries, as Senator Chuck Hagel did.
Secretaries of State who run for office must resign their position as soon as they announce for office.
Reinstatement of those who served time for felonies after they serve their time and successfully complete parole.
Control of gerrymandering, Acceptance of student IDs.
I’m also curious about whether, under Republican governors and secs of state, whether election budgets are cut and hardware is outdated, hidden, allowed to get old and break down.
3
Perhaps it is also time to take a good look at what the republican party has become / is becoming. Is it still possible to consider the republican party "patriotic?" or is a large part of the party a danger to the country's Freedom and Democracy, through its thirst for complete power at any cost?
1
The current state of "Democracy" in the US always strikes me as a process that seeks to either exclude citizens, or make it as difficult and confusing as possible to vote. Here in Oregon we seem to have overcome many of these issues by simplifying the Democratic process. Our voter turnout for the mid-terms was approximately 70% of registered voters. Voters are automaticly registered when applying for a drivers license or state I.D. We are MAILED our ballots two weeks in advance of election day. 50% of the vote was ready to be counted at 8PM election nite & those results were posted in ONE HOUR. ALL votes are on paper ballots with a signature envelope over it. What is so difficult about these improvements to the voting process? NOTHING!
3
I don’t agree with 16 year olds voting. At 16 people are too young to have followed current affairs for enough years to form their own independent opinions. They are not yet properly working and paying taxes. And their political ideologies tend to be radical and unformed. I think 18 is reasonable.
I look back and blush at some of the opinions I expressed when I was younger.
2
Every time I see stories illustrated by long lines of voters waiting patiently to vote in person, it reminds me of this ease with which we vote here in Oregon. The ballot arrives in the mail 2 weeks before the election, giving me ample time to review the ballot and drop it in the collection bin a mile away from my house. Or I can put a stamp on it and put the ballot in the mail. The results were tabulated the night of the election. There is a paper record of every ballot. No fights over lost ballots and disenfranchised voters, no recounts, no armies of lawyers descending on my state. Why doesn't EVERY state vote like this?
1
@NWIndep
Sounds too intelligent :-)
But actually, it is also intelligent for some states not to do that because they don't want some people to vote.
Brian Kemp in Georgia seems to be pretty successful at that.
The other side is Gerrymandering. In the Alabama special election for Senate, Democrat Doug Jones won 50% to 48%.
If those same votes had been counted for the House of Representatives, there would have been 6 Republican winners and 1 Democratic winner.
1
Last House vote count I saw was:
51.8 million votes for Democrats
46.2 million votes for Republicans.
Last Senate vote count I saw was:
45 million votes for Democrats
33 million votes for Republicans.
But Republicans still control the Senate because of small states.
10
@Independent
And THAT's exactly how it was intended, drafted and executed. Live it or live with it.
1
More important is that they won a couple.
We have enjoyed mail-in ballots here in Portland, OR for quite some time, and it is an EXCELLENT system in my personal experience! Very flexible in a manner that allows time and resources to "study up" on the issues and candidates, and extremely convenient as well...since you have a large window of time to drop off or mail in your ballot. People would do well to get behind Merkley's bill to expand mail-in voting.
5
@Lara Jones
A sincere question. How are the votes authenticated to make sure there was no voter fraud in the mail in system. I am in favor of making voting easier as long as it does not increase the probability of voter fraud. I have not seen what the safeguards are so could you let me know how it works in Oregon.
Though John Husted, who is now the Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, managed to pass a draconian voter registration issue (you get booted off the voter roll if you have not voted in two years) as Secretary of State, Ohio has a solid vote by mail period. This eliminates the need to wait in line and also enables you to read about the judges and issues on the ballot.
On a separate note, it is absolutely confounding and downright ridiculous that citizens of the District of Columbia have no representation. The population is larger than two states and still, no representation at the federal level.
4
We must have a “Stand Alone Federal Election”, with the only items on the ballot being “President and Vice President”, “Senator” and “Member of Congress”.
Every State to have the same Ballot configuration and counted in the same way. Counting a ballot by hand would be relatively simple if it became necessary.
The result would be no long lines and much more participation by the voters.
5
@Roy B. And Federally supplied voter ID, free to anyone who qualifies and needs one. Voter Fraud is nonsense, but the Dems need to do something to take it away from the GOP.
Still less than half of eligible voters went to the polls — something on the order of 47%. Actually a pretty good showing for a midterm election ( the norm is something hovering in the high 30% range)
In American terms a significant plus, but hardly a seminal change.
What did it take?
It took two years of the bar-none, absolute worst President consistently abetted by a complicit GOP majority in the Congress. Clearly as bad as it has been on the national political landscape in the last half century or more.
Obviously turning the American political morass substantially toward the light of robust democratic process and governance that credibly works for We the People will be a painful and rocky affair.
One wonders how much of this kind of bitter medicine we can take.
5
Is it not ironic that the party that freed the slaves now does the most to suppress their descendants’ vote?
Republicans: get with the movement. It is not only about making it easy for your side to win but about legitimacy of the system as a whole.
5
@Philip M
Good point.
I always love it when Republicans claim to be the party of Lincoln.
If Lincoln were alive today, he'd be a Democrat.
The Republican Party stopped being the progressive Party around the time of Teddy Roosevelt who left the Republican Party to help start the Progressive Party.
By the time of FDR, Democrats were the party of the working class.
But the Confederate States voted Democratic for 100 hundred years up to the 1960's because they hated Lincoln.
They were the Strom Thurmond, George Wallace Democrats.
That changed when Lyndon Johnson passed Civil Rights and Republicans started the Southern Strategy to convert the segregationist to Republicans.
Reagan helped with his dog whistle politics of 'States Rights' and 'Welfare Queens.'
And today the Republicans have Trump.
1
@Independent Or: blow a dog whistle long enough and hard enough and eventually you will attract a dog…
1
I always love it when Republicans claim to be the party of Lincoln.
1
There is a fallacy in "if you are old enough to..., then you are old enough to..." The necessary requirements may be different. Perhaps some version of an honestly administered civics test should be required to vote (or run for office).
What I found most encouraging about the midterm voting is that the very close races indicate how very, very important EVERY vote can be. For all of us who think our vote won't make a difference, well, think again.
3
This is quite the hopeful column, Mr. Leonhardt. I think what most American citizens (as voters, that is), want the system to work well--for everyone. There will always be backwaters--and I do not mean this in the spirit of "deplorables"--that will fight against anyone's rights because they have, all their lives, interpreted someone else's "freedoms" as a loss of their own. A case in point is the Second Amendment.
When felons who have served their time and paid their debt to society, they should, in a forward-looking, "Christian" nation, be forgiven and allowed back into the voting ranks. It's my opinion that ex-felons, on the other side of the law and out of circulation for years, if they are repatriated into their neighborhoods, could be the unexpected spearpoints for "democracy." Long stigmatized as criminals, those who have learned from their incarcerations could be the valued citizens that most people thought they would not--or could not--become.
Maybe the nugget in the droppings of the Trump presidency is the appreciation for the privilege it is to determine one's system of governance. Far too many Americans, for far too long, have become indifferent to the franchise. Voting must be made not compulsory but celebratory. There should be a national day of voting and there should be a month-long run-up to it so that citizens who cast absentee ballots may do so without undue pressure.
We have learned that we are the ones who can fulfill our own destiny. Can we? Will we?
88
@Red Sox, '04, '07, '13, '18
Neither the American nor Israeli Founders made their freedom by being moderate and reasonable while peacefully protesting singing and getting arrested.
Black folks have fought for their freedom by making the best of enslavement and separate and unequal while demanding that the system practice what it preach. Surviving segregation and integration while black is very complicated.
The notion that there is only one way to win resting upon a despised physical ly identifiable malign minority is ludicrous. On a local level winning means adaptation.
3
Another area that must be looked into is vote tabulation and voting machines. I am leery of touchscreen methods, especially when no paper record is made, but even when there is a paper record. How many voters check their entire paper record to make sure it is accurate? I'm for paper ballots that are fed through a scanner. Then there is the problem of checking signatures, especially with mail-in ballots. People's signatures change over time; mine has for sure. Finally there is computer/internet voting. Also, no paper record here, and it seems like a huge opportunity for hacking. In our era of technology, there must be a totally safe, accurate and fast method to vote.
2
In the early 2000 I ran an affiliate of Kids Voting USA , a civic education nonprofit in Bucks County PA, a Republican stronghold. The mission of KVSUA was to get K-12 students out "to vote" at the actual polling sites on elections day. Special KV "polls" and ballots were set up. The hidden agenda was once you got the parents out, perhaps they would vote too. Can't tell you how many parents told me this was their first time voting. The program was based on elections in Costa Rica where voting is mandatory and voters tend to take their kids to the polls.
I had buy in and support from all the county school districts, the county Election commission, and the local paper, ie.THE PRESS! It worked however what stands out in my mind most was the attack I got one morning from a local voter, a Republican, who was mad as heck because my program would get more Dems out to vote! I was stunned. Bit my tongue and just told her it was democracy at work. The power of civics at home and school!
I now live in CO and where mail in ballots, early voting are the norm. My ballot is tracked ( I know when it's being mailed and when it has been received!). I can mail it in, drop it off in numerous places or do a "drive by" drop off on election day.
2
Let's call it plain: Democrats must have a person of color on the 2020 ballot. I can understand that, what good was electing the first African-American president, if he's going to be the only African-American president. Since the principle that a politician doesn't have to really have ever done anything to get elected President has been established, then go ahead and put Gillum, or Harris on the ballot. Not so much 'Let America Vote' as 'Get America to Vote'.
Put all voting optionally online — it’s a more-secure system, not a less-secure one, if done with proper two-factor authentication. Would you prefer your bank keep only paper records of your deposits?
Each person can have a unique PIN and tie his vote to his phone number. Those without cell phones and computers can still have polls, which should just be computer kiosks. It’s 2018. Your turnout would jump dramatically, particularly among young people who want to have a voice but don’t have all day to go to a poll.
Ah, now I see why online voting hasn’t gained any traction in Congress.
On a separate note I posted a comment here earlier which I imagine would be unpopular with the usual NYT left-biased group of readers. It hasn’t appeared yet, or maybe it was voted down as being “off topic.” Sort of ironic for an article on democracy.
3
Voting ended Tuesday. Dems looking to steal another election. Say no to democrat fraud.
2
@Steve and please don't count the absentee ballots coming from our military overseas.
So now Florida democrats will be depending on the felon vote how utterly appropriate.
2
@jaco since depriving people of their right to vote is something Republicans love to do. Why shouldn't someone who serves their debt to society be allowed to vote?
What a crock. At 72 (today - happy birthday to me) and the 100th anniversary of the end of WW I) I have lived through every President since Truman. (The first one I remember is Eisenhower.) Strangely I have met every President from Nixon (who personally commissioned me an Ensign) to "W" Bush. (Historical note I was retired by Clinton 1 1/2 impeachments - great bookends.) In all those years the daily drumbeat from the media was "world ends, women and children hardest hit. A short list: fear of nuclear annihilation; the Berlin Airlift; Watts and Columbia riots; Vietnam protests; sex, drugs and rock and roll; the Bay of Pigs; the Cuban Missile Crisis; JFK & RFK assassinations; Granada; Rwanda; Pol Pot; the Civil Rights movement; Senator McCarthy; a couple of stock market crashes; 9/11; fall of the Shaw of Iran; the Pueblo incident; the U-2 incident; the OPEC gas crisis; ......... I could go on for several pages. Somehow we managed to retain a functioning Government. I am now expected to believe that President Trump and the Republicans are an existential threat to democracy? Really? (eye roll)
1
@Sailboat Captain. In my view of the world, when the minority gets to control all parts of government, that is a threat to democracy.
3
umm....when does the fascism and voter suppression gonna start already?
those on the left, including many in this newspaper, have been screaming, unhinged, about the demise of our democracy since trump, and an economic holocaust, to boot.
these people are either clueless, imbeciles, or nefarious fear-mongering hacks. take your pick.
utterly shameful. far, far worse than anything trump has done. not even close.
1
Guns and votes. Both are covered in amendments to the constitution, yet it is easier to have a gun than to vote.
Now, it would seem that voting is an essential part of any democracy. Guns are not.
I maintain that regardless local, state or federal, those who govern know who we are, where we live and what we do. They know where and how to find us. Voter registration ought to be automatic with no strings attached. There should be no hoops to jump. We need to encourage people to the polls instead of chasing them away with silliness.
1
@wihiker How is it easier to buy a gun than vote. Certainly not in my state
Please make Election Day a national holiday, or put forth an amendment to have a Sunday Election day. Better yet, make early voting national.
Election day should be a day off with pay if you vote.
1
No. Mr. Leonhardt, sadly, is wrong-headed and completely out of touch with the philosophy of the electoral process. He's too imbued with the political indoctrination needed in the USA back in the Civil Rights Era. That Era is over. We have wandered in the wilderness for that Biblical 40 years, to obliterate the memory of the sins of previous generations...and now we enter into that world described by MLK, Jr back then....appearantly he really did go to a mountain and see that other side....and now its time to return to that righteousness, voting the way we intended to vote......actual registered citizens....and NO, "let every vote count" simply means "let me stuff more ballots" we all understand that with a wink and a nod....Vote Early? NO WAY....thats what they do in Chicago! Remember when we all understood what "early voting" really meant?? As for Recounts.....Tuff. NO recounts. Instant Results only, just like a photo finish at the race track.....better luck next time. Every one should NOT vote....only those who show the interest and responsibility to register and then actually show up on election day...........they vote. And its time to chop Political Parties off at the knees......TAX Political Contributions. There's ya Campaign Reform. Writ Large.
1
E Pluribus Unum
From Many One
We're All in this Together
2
Or as they say in Broward County, Florida: "Let the people vote ... and vote often."
1
Celebrating the victory of democracy is a bit sour seeing Menendez re-elected. Perhaps that is why his name is so seldom mentioned hereabouts.
3
When it comes to voting in your neighbour country to the north of you we Canadians live in a country where voter suppression is unheard of. I notice in many of the letters to the Editor getting rid of your Electoral College which is absurdly antiquarian is popular. Perhaps you should also consider getting rid of the Second Amendment which is equally out of date.
7
According to David Leonhardt's deranged logic, if the Republicans win the election, then that is a fascist dictatorship. If the Democrats win it's a pro-democracy movement! Go figure...!
3
@ChandraPrince. What would you call it when the minority holds control of government?
2
The most pro-democracy move that can be made is to establish campaign finance rules that don't favor the rich.
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@Jerry Smith Yes Jerry. Only U.S. Citizens should be allowed to finance Elections. When I last checked, Corporations were not citizens.
2
A democrat in Oklahoma knows his or her vote will not count in a national election just as a republican knows his or her vote will not count in California. Get rid of the out dated electoral college and make every vote count.
2
So long as Citizen-United-style decisions are the law of the land - likely at least the next fifty years - many remain skeptical that the candidate-selection process will ever provide any but corporate prostitutes dolled up to appeal to our lowest-common-denominator fellow voters.
The "democracy" proffered may well be but a cynical cartoon version of the essential principle.
1
A fix to all of this would be a constitutional amendment. Did you know that your vote is not guaranteed by our constitution?
Citizen participation in the electoral process being necessary for the security of a free nation, the right of the people to vote shall not be infringed.
Wait. Didn't Cheney and Bush et al invade Iraq to bring "democracy" to the Middle East. And now you tell us this is the least democratic of "affluent" democracies, with a history and a system of suppressing "mass participation". Tell me, what kind of a democracy is it that does not include "mass participation." Yes, a pro-democracy platform would be wildly popular on both the left and the right. Which is one reason why neither the Dems nor the Reps will pick it up. It must be evident to everyone by now that their existence is based on a system that squelches democracy at every turn. Please let share your piece with your colleague Gail Collins.
Good piece with many excellent ideas. I'm a transplanted Arizonan who worked from afar to help turn Arizona Blue or at least Purple.
Voting should be a basic right, not an obstacle course. Voting by mail, which Arizona has, is an excellent idea--should be universal. So too the measure in Maryland, for which I voted, to authorize same day registration.
As for the struggle reclaim our democratic institutions and the true meaning of the Republic I like to think that we beat King George III, Jeff Davis, Hitler, and Jim Crow. We'll beat Trump and all he stands for too if we keep up the fight. As Churchill said: "Never give up. Never despair." Or closer to home as Grant said to Sherman contemplating the toll after the first day of Shiloh and knowing that hard fighting lay ahead: "lick em tomorrow."
2
@John Collinge-. AZ has 3.6M registered voters, 2.2M live in Maricopa Co. Yet voters there still face continuous problems trying to cast a vote. See link "Election Day issues: technology glitches, running out of ballots". In addition polling sites keep changing sending voters to the wrong polling site and even to closed sites! One judge declined to keep some polling places open in Maricopa Co. that had opened late; voters were “disenfranchised” as a result. AZ lawmakers also made it harder for Navajo voters living in remote areas to have their ballots delivered. HB 2023 makes it a felony for anyone other than a family member or caretaker from delivering a completed early ballot; disproportionately effecting racial and ethnic minority groups who don't have reliable mail access, i.e voters living in rural areas or on the native reservations. Violators of HB 2023 can face up to a year in state prison and a $150,000 fine.
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/11/06/arizo…
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@Ann I am all too familiar with the problems in Maricopa County. That is one of the reasons I made a decision a year ago to back Katie Hobbs for Secretary of State after the incumbent screwed up royally in 2016. That and the fact that Katie impressed the hell out of me when we met last year.
I also was acting from the belief which Howard Dean so ably argued that you must build at the state and grassroots level if you are ever going to have an effective democracy.
Seems the Republicans want to stop counting when they are in the lead.
3
Operating a two-ton vehicle, Mr. Leonhardt, requires motor skills. Voting is a different matter.
2
Automatic registration for all USA citizens
Mail ballots
All polling places available for 4-5 days before election
Uniform National rules for voting, No individual state wide laws.
Reliable and consistent voting machines, uniform in all places
Fine for not voting
Voting overseen by non political groups.
4
In Washington State, our mail-in ballots came with postage paid envelopes. I think it had something to do with Seattle or King County offering that option and the state opting to offer that to everyone. A nice touch.
6
One reason the United States makes voting much harder than any other country might be our winner take all system. In other country it is possible for smaller parties can gain seats in Parliaments so it is in more parties interests to get their voters to the polls. In the U.S. Republicans don't get power if they can't limit who votes.
3
Sadly, neither the Democrats nor the Republicans represent the best interests of the voters, but rather corporations and the wealthy. In fact, the entire reason Trump won was because the neo-liberals sold out the middle class, so Trump just took them as a voter block, and then ignored them too.
Read Chris Hedges book America: The Farewell tour.
1
@No green checkmark. How can one make that statement when the Dems have not seen power for 8 years?
1
Our elections should be national holidays. The rebirth of democracy is one of the few things America has a unique right to celebrate.
1
We have mail-in voting throughout rural Utah. It works great, so long as you were able to register in the first place. That's our sticking point.
The gatekeeping practiced by our county clerk and those of surrounding counties pretty much necessitates most new registrants making the 2-hour drive to our county seat to present a photo ID and proof of residency in person (9-5 on weekdays, of course.) If you're retired and able to drive-- no senior van here--- that's doable. If you're working, it's nearly impossible. Jobs here aren't of the sort that allow time off, period.
Same problem disenfranchising the native American populations who live on the reservations--- 4-hour drives, not just 2 hours, to their county seat; problems proving residency when you don' have a utility bill in your name or a physical street address. (Common out here)
We have a massive voter participation problem in this country, and a single answer fix will not address everyone's issues. But we can sure make a start.
5
@MAS Sir, voting is important and making sure those that are legal citizens are the only one's voting with sound mind and under their own free will. Vacation can be used to register if their is no way to get their on any other day. Voting is important and so this is not to much to ask. Plus it is a one time deal to register, if you vote every election. This is a small sacrifice.
Election Day ought to be a national holiday.
As for voting by mail: are there not ballots sitting in a post office in Florida that have not yet been delivered?
2
Common Cause, ACLU, SPLC are among several organizations that have always fought for the right to vote. They have an
D have had many supporters. This “movement” is a new generation of voters and an awareness of the importance of our voting right brought about by folks who understand the positive possibilities of social media. The kids in Parkland are typical of this new generation that “get it” and understands that left place, our current leadership cannot bring about an American 21st century.
I am happy the media has joined the fight. Go to Georgia and help with the recount. Find the voters whose ballots were misplaced. Go to all the places where gerrymandering is legal voter disenfranchisement.
The fight for voters rights is not new. It started in 1787, Maybe 2020 will be our moment.
2
As long as they are citizens and can prove that fact, no problem. But cultural Marxist view--anyone with the borders and adult, not a chance.
The Grand Collective's greatest fear, and our Sovietized mass-media--non-citizen votes will be expunged before the recounts are finished. Every ballot has a number and every number should have a citizen--time to check, even if it takes another year, even two.
Yep, need those open-borders if the Grand Collective is to succeed in destroying American democracy.
3
Maybe one day the SCOTUS will revisit and reconsider their decision in Shelby v Holder: http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/shelby-county-v-holder/ . Maybe not with the current court makeup--but there is always room for wishful thinking.
Democracy & Liberty
“If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear.” -George Orwell (1903-1950)
Excerpt from the new novel, Retribution Fever:
Democracy and Liberty
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” -President John Adams (1735-1826)
Democracy? Let us not forget that the Framers of the Constitution created a new nation as a republic — yes, a democratically-oriented republic but a republic, nonetheless — a republic to promote liberty not tyranny. They did not create this nation as a democracy, especially a democracy to promote tyranny in the name of liberty. In fact, to them the word, democracy, represented an obscenity.
freedom n.: The absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action. -Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary
Politically today, the word, democracy, substitutes for the word, freedom. They are not synonyms. There can be freedom without democracy. There can be democracy without freedom.
liberty n.: The power to do as one pleases. -Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary
Liberty? Yes! By all means, give us liberty. Ah, but what is liberty?
If liberty is the power to do as one pleases, must there not be limits to such behavior? Without setting limits, what would be the consequences? What, then, is real liberty?
The objective of the republicans is to limit any voting to White Men With Property, say about 50,000 acres or so. Cattle would we bonus points in qualifying if the guy only had 40,000 or so.
3
Prerequisite for the rise of extremism, nationalism, and fascism is that the government betrays the voters. After you are betrayed by the “normal”, everything is acceptable and normal.
After the citizens are forgotten by the elected officials for the sake of the global corporations, the gloves are off and nobody knows what comes first.
After the trust is destroyed you cannot trust anybody.
By the way, how come that the lawmakers demand the justice officials to be exempted from the judicial procedures if they have the conflict of interest?
In accordance to such criteria, our lawmakers should be legally prevented from enacting any law. For God’s sake, they received the billions of dollars in the campaign donations and then enacted the laws on behalf of the campaign donors?!
You have more reason to believe in the existence of Santa Clause than in the effective, just and fair democracy…
How about making election day a national holiday?
1
This benign and welcomed focus on the mechanics of democracy is the silver lining of the Trump regime. Trump and his Republican lackeys have inspired millions to get up off their behinds to repair a sclerotic voting ecosystem that has become unrepresentative and unresponsive to the most prized citizen right: voting.
3
While we should make it easier to vote, vote by mail encourages voter fraud
i had a student who told me her dad filled our all ballots for their family
that's not cool
3
@paul. That is on her, not her dad, not on the system.
1
@gratis
But there's no way to tell how common that is. We need privacy when voting. Online voting is a horrible idea; vote-by-mail is a problem, as well
We need early voting, easy absentee voting (in MO, my daughter had to have her ballot notarized, which is a PAIN).
@paul. We have no idea who filled out mom's absentee ballot in the nursing home. She had not requested one. My brother always took her to vote in person. But a few days before Election Day she had an "I VOTED" sticker on her sweater.
Up here in Michigan, we took our state back once and for all on Tues. with two state constitutional amendments. One created a non-partisan commission to draw legislative and congressional district lines, the other (1) re-institutes the straight party ballot (2) allows for no-reason absentee voting by mail (3) allows for same-day voter registration, and (4) automatically registers people to vote who apply for a driver's license, unless they specifically decline to do so. As indicated previously, these were both CONSTITUTIONAL amendments which cannot be tinkered with by either party holding power.
Like many of the purple states, we in Michigan have been governed by a minority Republican tyranny for too long, and voters here were finally fed up enough to organize the petition drives and campaigns necessary to pass these two important measures, each of which easily carried 60%+ of the vote. Go blue!
9
Utah has an independent redistricting initiative on the ballot. The measure is currently leading by a narrow margin with 80 percent reporting. Still too close to call but promising. Passage depends on which 20 percent of ballots are still outstanding. If I had to guess, it's the same four counties busy tallying Utah's district four. Another tight race caught in the margins.
There's a problem with ballot initiatives though. Well, there's several problems actually. However, the first problem is only about half the nation is allowed to put initiatives on the ballot. The permissible states are mostly in the West. I'm glad Leonhardt brought up New York. New York is my favorite example of the Democratic Party consistently acting exceedingly undemocratic.
Here's a dirty secret about Democrats: They suppress voters too. However, they suppress voters in different ways than Republicans. Democrats don't care about IDs. However, party leadership doesn't want your vote in primary elections. They only want your vote in the general election. They choose the candidate. You get the candidate elected. That is how most of the Democratic political apparatus is designed to function.
Moreover, Republicans will ask you for ID. However, Democrats are perfectly happy to leave you standing in the rain for hours. In-person polling favors Democrats over universal mail-in/drop-off ballots. Meanwhile, in-person voting keeps the primary turnout predictably small. Democrats aren't wearing an angel wings.
2
I describe the midterms as a "pro-voting moment" which may signal a public demand for a "pro-democracy movement".
There are indications that our democracy is sick --- as evidenced by political academics like; Gilens, Page, Levitsky, and Ziblatt, public intellectuals on the radical left, as well as by "The Post" in its mast-head "Democracy Dies in Darkness".
There is a lack of diagnose of precisely what the 'disease' is that is endangering democracy in darkness with death.
Historically, and to our founders, the "disease of 'democratic' Republics” was commonly described as “Empire". This has proven to be true both in ancient times and with the modern "Great Powers" {Kennedy] of the Spanish, British, French, German, Japanese and Soviet Empires.
Some few diagnose the disease we need to understand as a block to any "pro-democracy" movement:
"The U.S. state is a key point of condensation for pressures from dominant groups around the world to resolve problems of global capitalism and to secure the legitimacy of the system overall. In this regard, “U.S.” imperialism refers to the use by transnational elites of the U.S. state apparatus to continue to attempt to expand, defend, and stabilize the global capitalist system. We are witness less to a “U.S.” imperialism per se than to a global capitalist imperialism. We face an empire of global capital, headquartered, for evident historical reasons, in Washington.”
Global Capitalism and the Crisis of Humanity, 2014 Robinson, William
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@Alan MacDonald
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth (and power) concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." Louis D. Brandeis
A disguised global capitalist Empire, only HQed in and 'posing' as a democratic country, and under the rule of a virtual 'Emperor', is nothing but a mechanism designed to concentrate wealth and power "in the hands of a few".
Therefore, we can have democracy or Empire, but we can't have both.
2
True to form, this just in: Trump wants to stop the Florida recount, and arbitrarily declare his Republican candidates the victors before each and every ballot has been tallied. Not sure the state can get any deeper, swampier or more rigged.
3
The people voted and the radical Dems still cannot accept the actual election results. Thank Goodness that the Republicans will sweep 2020!
1
As I read through Mr. Leonhardt's opinion piece, I found myself in full agreement. At the heart of this authoritarian trend in governance, ( or non-governance, depending on how you look at it) I see defense, stone-walling, obstructionism, and, frankly, white people of various categories circling-the-wagons. ( For transparency, I'm a 70 yr. old white male.) Trump didn't produce this trend but he is a despicable figure-head for it now, a merit-less scoundrel who has been elevated to the highest office in the land ( on the planet?). By whom... and why?
A quote I read in an article in the 'The Atlantic', January of 2018 was scary, and is now haunting: "If conservatives become convinced that they cannot win democratically, they will not abandon conservatism. They will reject democracy." Dave Frum, speech writer for G. W. Bush.
2
How predictable!
If my side wins, democracy wins.
If my side loses, democracy was cheated.
Surely we can do better than this.
1
@Ian Maitland. In my view of the world, the side with the most votes should win. Even if it is the other side.
1
@gratis
How narrow and cramped a conception of democracy you have. Not many small "d" democrats insist on direct or majoritarian democracy. To hear you, Britain and the Netherlands are not democracies. You knew the rules when you voted, and the system has resulted in as many (or more) Democrats as Republicans being elected over the years. Is that a whiff of sour grapes I smell?
I was with you until your advocacy of 16 year olds voting. We are in enough trouble from people who act like adolescent boys voting, much less having actual adolescent boys voting.
2
Of all the despicable acts the GOP takes against our democracy, none is more disgusting than making it difficult for people they don't like to vote. Exhibit A: The mere presence of an African-American President drew conservatives out of the woodwork and there was a wave of voter restrictions instituted nationwide. In California, we did the exact opposite: automatic registration when you show up at the DMV for any reason, and voting entirely by mail in the comfort of your home with feet propped up. No place to go, no lines. Just like it should be in a high-function democracy.
4
I think people under 18 are too immature to vote. Actually, that's true of many over-18s as well, but if they are mature enough to fight in harm's way for our country, they must be enfranchised. While voter fraud has not been much of a problem (as it had been 80 years ago), potential voters are easily manipulated by false and misleading media (news and social). While my hope that maturity strengthens ones ability to discern propaganda from information, evidence is sketchy. Nevertheless, my experience is that high-schoolers are very prone to peer pressure. Actually, peer pressure is probably strongest in college-aged people, free from their parents' supervision, they may rely even more heavily on their peers.
I'd feel better about widening the franchise if civics and civic responsibility were as well-respected and admired as, say, football or pop music.
1
I have voted in every election in Canada at the municipal, provincial and federal level for the last 52 years. I have never waited in line for more than a few minutes. What is wrong with American elections?
4
@ Michael meddlesohn of Toronto
Population of Canada
35 million
Population of the United States of America
340 million
@Michael Mendelson I think the sophisticates who run things in the big cities need to study what us hicks in the backwaters are doing. I have been voting since 1972, in Niagara and Erie Counties, New York state (and no, not both in the same elections); I have never had to wait for any 45 minutes but more like 5 minutes if I picked the wrong time.
@Independent voter: population of Ontario 13.5 million, larger than all but 4 states (California, Texas, New York and Florida) in the US. Toronto is a metropolitan area of over 5 million, third or fourth largest metro area north of the Rio Grande. Population differences do not explain the differences between US and Canadian elections.
1
Let's consider the 16 year old voter age limit for a moment.
I'm not a psychologist, but I would bet that most 16 year old people still align with their parent's political views, rather than their own independently assessed views. So parents of children that age have increased voting advantage. Perhaps that's a good thing, perhaps not.
Let's study it before accepting the glib argument that license to drive a car correlates with ability to make a sound and independent political judgment.
1
@rifotay Very bad idea.
Arguably the most important election result was the passage of Proposal 18-2 in Michigan, where over 61% of the voters approved a constitutional amendment to take redistricting away from the legislature and give that job to an independent citizens redistricting commission. Over 10,000 volunteers first gathered over 425,000 signatures in 110 days in 2017 to get the measure on the ballot, and then finished the job with a powerful ground game to pass the measure in spite of a dishonest, fear-mongering campaign against it.
4
As recently noted by Michelle Obama, resisting tyranny is the justification for waging war. The Trump occupancy of the presidency is an act of tyranny, and his congressional proxies are enablers.
While growing up in the early 1950's, I recall the great uproar over fluoridation of public water supplies. It was being called a communist plot against our country. Now, such a fuss seems quaint by comparison to the openly tyrannical tendencies that Trump embraces. If going to the voting booth does not unseat him and his kind, then we are clearly no longer United States. Perhaps it is time for blue states to issue their own Declarations of Independence.
3
"Over all, though, the election was an excellent one for American democracy."
Also, the Supreme Court may soon overturn Roe vs Wade, which removed a major issue from democratic control. If they do, people will be able to vote on abortion law instead of engaging in futile protests. But of course the writer did not mention that because that would be a conservative victory.
1
Why would conservatives support that other than invading the bedroom and uterus? It is lazy thinking. Supporting the economy and hopefulness decreases abortions. It is reactionary, not conservative. Prohibition worked well taking away an established freedom.
As I have pondered all the matters regarding voting access the last few weeks, many make sense. But the one that I have trouble with is voting by mail. It has been stated many times that there is limited , almost non existent voter fraud. I think that is largely due to the fact that most of our voting is in person, except for absentee voting, which has reasonable safeguards against fraud.
What are the safeguards in connection with voting by mail? I do not know what they are, but if they are not robust, I think this could become a voting mechanism that could promote more widespread voter fraud. Unfortunately, we are flawed people and, when given a chance to cheat, some people on both the republican and democrat side will take advantage of the opportunity.
3
We here in Washington State who receive our ballots in the mail and return them by mail/drop box can't fathom why so many are forced to stand in line for hours in all weathers. We have the luxury of considering our ballots at a time of our choosing and checking Internet sites for any research that might be required.
I remember the small civic satisfaction of voting at a polling place with my fellow citizens, but it pales with age.
3
Same here in Oregon. It helps cut down on voter suppression, so you know Republicans would never support it.
@Linda Beeman Does voting by mail increase the chances of voter fraud in your state? What are the safeguards
As a naturalized American, I cannot imagine anything that would keep me from exercising my right to vote. So, it came as a shock that canvassing was even necessary, though I volunteered gladly with Indivisible to reach out to the registered voters in my precinct. Second shock: even in an election as important to our future as a democracy as this one, I was met with an astonishing degree of apathy and indifference. But after all, I live in Florida where cynicism about one's vote counting at all is high. Now that's truly SAD.
2
It is time we had a “Stand Alone Federal Election”, with the only items on the ballot being “President and Vice President”, “Senator” and “Member of Congress”.
Every State should have the same Ballot configuration and counted in the same way. Counting a ballot by hand would be relatively simple if it became necessary.
The result would be no long lines and much more participation by the voters.
The State, County, City, School Board, and all other local issues must be voted on at a completely different time. One suggestion would be to hold Federal Elections in Even numbered years and State Elections in Odd numbered years.
Most countries in the World elect their governments this way. It time for us to do the same. We must do it now, before the next Federal Election.
1
@Roy B
We should adapt the Irish ranked choice voting system, including for the primaries.
California has a form of this, and it works.
1
@wanderer Maine just adopted it and it may well swing its second district outcome in the Democrat's favor!
@Johnny Panic
Yeah!! I am so sick of Susan Collins kowtowing to the republicans. Her vote for Kavanaugh was the worst.
Until you get money out of politics we won't have our democracy back. It's been sold to the highest bidder - corporate America and wealthy Americans. Nothing else matters.
4
@Anita, If only Registered Voters were allowed to put their money into the election and a limit set on how much, this country could get back to being a Democracy.
Corporations are NOT registered voters, only Citizens are allowed that right.
4
@Anita
If you want to get money politics, you have to vote democratic. And you have to pester the democrats to cancel out Citizens United which ranks alongside some of the worst Supreme Court decisions including eviscerating the voting acts, Plessy v Ferguson, Dred Scott v Sanford, and all the Civil Rights cases of 1883 and many more. The Supreme does not seem to be interested in justice, it seems to be interested in limiting citizens right to vote and enriching the rich. Eviscerating the voting rights acts of the 1960s was terrible and showed that Right Wing Supreme Court is just handmaiden of the racists, the bigoted, the wealthy and the corporations. The final stupidity was Edwards comment to the effect that people should stop being racists, that's why they're limiting people of color's rights as well as whites who are not with the republican plans. Federalist Society pew!!
1
@wanderer
I meant to say "If you want to get money OUT OF politics, you have to vote demcratic."
When one party controls everything, democracy dies. People might feel that benefits them at the start, when that party is doing what they want. But, when that party has firm control, they will no longer need votes, and they will do what benefits them and the people in power.
Look at trump's "tax cut" - It mostly benefited Billionaires, and threw some scraps to the rest. If there was no check on trump's power, he wouldn't have cared what anyone but the Billionaire ruling class thought.
We need a balance of power to keep power in check. The mid-terms helped, but more needs to be done.
Someone with a salary of $1,000,000 who is effectively taxed at a rate of 15% is still paying 17 times more to the government than someone making the elusive $15 in a 28% bracket. You cannot convince me that they are using 17 times as many services nor are they 17 times a greater burden on society.
3
Vote by Mail is a good idea but there needs to be a code verification protocol. Code from the ballot sending letter and a code you selected when you registered on the returned ballot. The 'Paper Trail' is an absolute need for recounts and verifications of legitimate voting.
1
There are a number of improvements to voting and registration being put forth. The VBM sounds very good but if we are to improve the integrity of our voting process and improve voters rights and participation we need to get busy fleshing out options and getting them implemented as soon as possible. Problems like the ongoing problems in Florida seem to go down the same road as gun violence, much hand wringing but yet nothing gets done. Now is the time to start making our voting process reliable not just before the next election, as so many voter ID rules seem to be implemented, but now. And if nothing is done NOW we can expect more hand wringing and accusations like those we see in Florida, North Dakota, Georgia and other places today.We need to make sure everyone can vote and that it gets counted NOW not later.
How can a column on democracy in America neglect the elimination of the electoral college?
It can be done relatively simply. No amendment required.
There is an initiative that has been adopted by 17 states, with 45 percent of the electors (it requires 50 percent), to circumvent the electoral college without an amendment. If a few more states sign on to the compact, it will become effective. That would be a big step forward for democracy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Popular_Vote_Interstate_Compact
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Unconstitutional and the fact that Hilary list by ignoring the Midwest is evidence enough for the Electoral College. Harder but better and possible would be to increase House size and paying attention to local elections.
2
@Danny I am hopeful this will come about. The drumbeat for the inclusion of all forward-looking states should be promoted by the editors of this paper. The country at this point is not aware of the possible salvation afforded by this movement.
1
The EC wouldn’t be the “problem” that so many wring their hands about if 1) states uniformly portioned delegates according to popular vote numbers, AND 2) the turnout was greater than the frequent 40%.
2
I signed on to be an election judge in our small, not controversial Montana county. I worked 6.5 hours on Monday, prepping absentee ballots and 17.5 hours on Tuesday, again prepping ballots and then judging ballots the machine spit out. I found the whole process educational and extremely rewarding. I highly recommend it to anyone with the time and stamina. I cannot say enough good things about our county's election office after seeing the people in it up close. I plan to do it many more times. This is our democracy. Don't just cherish it. Help it.
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@Let the Dog Drive I felt the same way a few years ago when I worked as a poll watcher. I was quite impressed. I'm a Democrat living in a red district, nevertheless, I felt everyone was doing their best job.
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@Let the Dog Drive I agree. I was an Election Inspector for the first time this year. Totally loved it and will do it again.
9
@Let the Dog Drive
Thank you for your patriotic service, Ms. or Mr. Drive.
8
It's still a struggle here in Georgia to vote. Nothing is made easy particularly for minorities and the less privileged. But, there is light, the media has made "exact match" voter registration a hot button issue, and provisional ballots. Lawsuits will be initiated and some will be won.
But the real shining light this midterm was the voter, they came out in force, and must say the Democrats were very, very successful. And with the same driving forces that brought these big wins, and their still being counted, 2020 with bring democracy back into full swing.
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@cherrylog754
Thankfully your Secretary of State no longer has a conflict of interest.
My enslaved and separate and unequal black African American paternal grandparents and their kids including my father fled Jim Crow Atlanta for Jim Crow Chicago in 1930 and got the right to vote.
My black paternal family still in Georgia came out en masse and voted Stacy Abrams. But close don't count. Winning is all that matters in politics. This is not bean bag nor horse shoes.
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As an American in France, I was amazed at what a functioning, if not thriving, democracy could look like. Especially after having been bludgeoned my entire life with paeans to the glories of American democracy. What a farce!
In France, all elections are held on Sunday, allowing most everyone to vote. And also allowing citizens of all ages to participate in monitoring and vote-tallying. (Not just retirees who have the weekday off.) Polling places are in elementary schools and municipal buildings. There is virtually no waiting at all anywhere because of the number of locations. Election periods are very short, campaign financing is strictly policed. While candidates pay for their public meetings, all radio, television and print campaigning is strictly controlled and reimbursed by the government. All French citizens receive a packet of information about ALL candidates, including their platform and photo. It is simple and straightforward.
I am always shocked by how primitive the American system is. And I won't bother to mention the ridiculous Electoral College system!! It is time for the United States to join the modern democracies of the world.
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@parizen The most important part of your post is what you didn't mention: That Congressional representatives are determined by the fraction of the national vote they receive, which allows minority parties to enter into Congress and completely eliminates partisan bickering and division.
7
And in the 230 years both countries have been republics, how many governmental overthrows, upheavals and meltdowns has the US had versus how many have the French had? What is the count now in France? The FIFTH republic?
3
@parizen Oh no! Then we would have to admit to our "non exceptionalism". Mon Dieu!
12
Dead on. The single most important change in California was moving from legislative (partisan) districting to a neutral redistricting commission. The state moved instantly from dysfunction back to its older tradition of pragmatic governance. Democracy works best when government feels legitimate to citizens. Honest and accurate representation is crucial to this feeling of legitimacy. More power to the Democracy Movement!
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@Cal Prof
California is losing over 1 million people a year (net) to other states like Texas that are much more pragmatic and pro-business than CA. Perhaps from the vantage point of Berkeley, it seems that California is now more pragmatic, however, from the point of view of the rest of the nation it does not.
The net outflow of people leaving California (including long-time residents) and businesses relocating headquarters to other states (such as Toyota moving to Texas) should be indicators to the good people of California that they should at least consider some 'diversity' in government (i.e. elect non-Democrats into positions of power).
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@ElectionEd - Texas is not a prime example of the ideal state government. It is ‘good for business’ by ignoring the needs of its people and its environment, and it certainly cannot claim it’s current governance shows diversity. We are jammed into gerrymandered districts designed expressly to keep the Republican Party firmly in control.
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@ElectionEd California is not losing population. It i doing very well. The people leaving are those who have better opportunities elsewhere, don't like paying taxes for the common good and/or don't like being part of a states that is no longer a majority of non-Hispanic whites. We don't elect non-Democrats aka Republicans because they don't represent the interests of the Californian people. California is doing very well financially while supporting the rest of the US by sending more taxes out than revenues received back, having a budget surplus, growing to be the world's 5th largest economy and having to deal with the social problems that are found throughout the country due to a nationally poor social safety net.
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From Senator Wyden Senate Intelligence Committee :
“This election has already put a spotlight on the fact that too many voters are stuck with glitchy, insecure voting machines that are hard to use and easy to hack. There’s a better way: Paper ballots and voting at home give voters the convenience and security they want, including a guaranteed paper trail and never waiting for hours just to exercise your constitutional right to vote,” Wyden said.
From me:
You can start a petition or ask your representative to put forth a bill to put in this system in place as quickly as possible. We can even track our mail-in vote. If you have forgotten to mail it, you can run down to verified ballot boxes in your city or town--such as your nearest library, etc. Also, there is no reason for this system to take longer to tally votes if it is designed properly.
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@GreenSpirit
What are the voter fraud safeguards in voting by mail? it is not that I do not want to consider it, but I worry that this is really one way voter fraud could increase. Thus my interest
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Oregon’s ‘polls’ close at 8 pm (all ballots to drop boxes or the courthouse by then). My county had preliminary results by 9.
We have a city council race where three candidates are separated by a total of 7 votes. I know that poll workers will be able to manually count paper ballots if the need arises.
To most of the rest of America, “Try it, you’ll like it!”
7
@GreenSpirit
Mail ballots can be lost, thrown away - oops, and just not counted. Snail mail is not the way a large demographic want to vote. The majority don't carry stamps, and cannot get to post offices to purchase. If mail-in ballots are already stamped, there needs to be a trail that it was received.
Election Day should be a federal holiday!
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Election day shouldn’t be a day! Vote by mail and have a bit over two weeks to vote at your kitchen counter! No lines! A paper record of your vote! The weather doesn’t matter!
OR,WA and others have figured this out. It is easy and it works. Turnout is high, however, so GOP ruled states will fight against it.
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@J Oberst I know this works, but I really like going into a church, civic hall, or someone's garage to stand with my fellow citizens and vote. We shop online, watch movies at home, have Facebook "friends;" I like there to be some "public" in "public life."
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@C.M. No need to make it a holiday. Others have said on here, and i agree that mail in ballots are the way to go. I live in Washington state and the whole process is done my mail here. So easy and the state pays the postage. The entire process took me 10 minutes.
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Voter suppression is wrong. Period. Those who engage in such activities, (I'm talking about You, Kris Kobach and You, Brian Kemp), should be called out for their assault on American electoral integrity.
Voting should not be regulated by elected officials who , in some cases, are the creatures of one party or the other. Rather there should be an appointed commission consisting of representatives of all major parties and whose deliberations would be immediately available to the public.
Activists should agitate for their governments and other organizations domiciled in their states to refuse to do business with states which engage in voter disenfranchisement, including
voter surpression, permanently banning those with felony convictions from voting, and undersupplying voting opportunities in areas expected to support one side or the other.
Finally, there should be efforts to institute ranked voting and vote by mail initiatives. Neither requires a constitutional amendment, and both would help increase the ease of voting.
Voter fraud doesn't exist. Let us just say that those who claim otherwise, (for partisan purposes), are either disingenuous or not very bright.
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@Tom Chapman How can you check for proof of US Citizenship when registering to vote by mail?
@Bar tennant
You're not "registering to vote by mail." You simply register to vote period, and all the same cross checks that apply to any voter registration in any form will come into play.
In California there's a 3-way verification process between your home address, license/ID and social security number. Once those are cross-checked you're fully registered, you have the option of choosing to Vote By Mail. If so, the ballot comes directly to your home. You will receive an information booklet, a sample ballot and your final ballot in three separate mailings.
It would be very difficult for someone to falsely register as me with my correct address, ID information, Social Security Number and then somehow break into my mail box on the precise day when the ballot arrives just to make a fraudulent vote. They would literally have to hide out near my mail box for a few weeks and spy on the mail carrier to see if she was delivering my ballot. Why would any one in their right mind risk a felony conviction to do that?!!!
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@Tom Chapman Voter fraud is alive and well and has been for decades. Just investigate Precinct 13 in Texas. LBJ was elected to Congress by proven fraud, but nothing was ever done about it. There were people bragging they voted multiple times for Obama in 2008. It's just we seldom prosecute for fear of the mean labels. Sorry if you've been duped into believing otherwise.
It is inexcusable to have long lines for voters and to wait days before ballots are counted.
When I lived in Connecticut 60 years ago, the polls closed at 8 PM and the results had to be phoned in to Hartford before 9 PM. Everything was done in the presence of Republican and Democratic poll watchers, as well as anyone in the public who was at the polls at 8 PM. If there was any tampering with the mechanical voting machines, it was approved by everyone present and the results were official and unchallenged. The lines for voting were short, because there were a lot of voting booths and voting was not suppressed for any reason.
Similarly, in suburban Minnesota, I got to my precinct at noon and found 8 polling workers and three voters, with 10 booths for putting dots on paper ballots voters inserted into a counting machine. This is in a state that historically has the highest voter turnout in the United States. If I hadn't considered this to be a social occasion, I would have been in and out in less than 3 minutes, which is how long it took me to vote in Minneapolis 40 years ago.
Any state that cannot get voters in and out in under 20 minutes is following practices imposed by their incompetent state or their local jurisdiction, or both. The idea of spending 3 hours in line should be enough for everyone in a backward state to vote early. And the idea that Florida can hold up the democratic process for the entire United States needs to be addressed on a national basis.
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In 50 years of voting in both urban and rural areas, I have had to wait more than 5 minutes only once in 1976.
I don’t know what is wrong in states where people have to wait for hours to vote year after year.
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@steve
In general, everybody loves winning elections but nobody wants to pay for them, and not a lot of people want to work a job that's one or two days every couple of years and pays minimum wage or close to it. Especially one that's governed by arcane rules written by legislators whose only experience with elections is having won one.
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@M Davis
It's called Republican voter suppression -- that's why people wait so long in certain states.
In the most populous state of the Union, California, you'll never wait more than 20-30 minutes, you never have to walk more than 10 blocks to a polling place and you have the option of signing up for permanent Vote By Mail.
Republican state legislatures is what's wrong in those states. The entire article is about the attempt by Republicans to dismantle Democracy.
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Trump was right, the system is rigged. The good news of his election is people are motivated to exercise their constitutional rights. Right of free assembly, right to free speech and the right to vote. We cannot take our democracy for granted. We are taking our democracy back.
However, in addition to having the right to vote and speak freely, we all have a responsibility to make ourselves informed. We need to ask questions and know what our elected representatives stand and vote for.
If you question the news source regarding congressional bills that are being voted on, read the bill online. Read the website of your representative to see how s/he votes on the things that are important to you.
Oprah was right, too. Many of us have dishonored our ancestors who fought hard for this right. I hope we have learned our lesson.
Vote in every election as if it’s the last. It could be.
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@Jane K I always vote in elections when I'm given a choice of a candidate whom I can,in good conscience, vote for. Unfortunately, that's not always the case.
@Jenifer Wolf
If both candidates annoy your conscience, then vote for the least terrible one--it's your civic duty.
People with your attitude are part of the reason that we have the administration we have today.
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@Jenifer Wolf Conscience doesn't enter into it. If you don't vote you're letting someone else choose who will be determining your future. If you don't vote you cannot complain about the results. It's not about conscience or purity, it's about choosing the best available when you're in the voting booth. Period.
For the record, I vote in every single election whether or not I'm in love with any of the candidates. I see it as my civic duty; too many people fought and died to give me that right, and I will not disrespect them by sitting out.
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Democracy may prevail for a day, but in our constitutional framework it is doomed. Until that framework is reformed, we will continue to see voter suppression, minority rule and a government bereft of democratic legitimacy. The Senate, the Electoral College and the Federal Courts all must be reformed to make certain that illegitimate government cannot be foisted upon the American People by a minority of voters living in predominantly rural states. Democracy and democracies thrive all over the world; it is about time we join the club.
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I was disappointed that you didn’t include Maine’s recent ranked choice voting system in your list of positive initiatives. It will be used to decide which candidate in our 2nd District goes to Congress. It makes it possible to vote for a third party candidate without feeling you are throwing your vote away.
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Mass voting by mail? Allowing 16 year olds to vote? What could possibly go wrong? Face it David, Democrats are losing a massive part of their base - the middle class, so now you come up with these infantile ideas to win? Why cant you folks just craft pro growth policies?
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Maybe candidates will draw votes on a platform of free Tide pods.
The fact that Republicans do everything in their power to minimize turnout, from voter suppression and gerrymandering to denying felons who have done their time the right to vote, tells you all you need to know about the merits of their message, not to mention their own faith in it. Meanwhile, Democrats traditionally, as well as today, make every effort to maximize voter turnout, to ensure the fullest possible participation in our democracy.
Combined with Donald Trump’s attempts to stifle the free press, turn the “just us” department into his “Roy Cohn” and other subversions of the checks and balances on the Executive branch, he and his Republican enablers repeatedly behave as if even they know that their philosophy, policies and politics can’t withstand democratic scrutiny. Even when elections are too close to call, their first reaction is to cry “voter fraud,” sue or set a time limit for recounts rather than insist that every ballot be counted. The racial and racist component to these measures make them all the more odious.
The next time you consider voting Republican or Democratic, think about which party actually respects, and wants to hear, your voice.
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Long lines, in the rain, where minorities vote in a Confederate state. If democracy is to have a chance, perhaps it is we, the North East States, that should now secede from the Confederate States.
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@MoneyRules There are no confederate states. Additionally, no one in southern states are forcing northern states into conservative voting laws. Northern states can allow felons to vote, allow everyone to take part in early voting, have loose or no voter ID laws, etc.
@John. Yes, and Confederate States can keep repressing voters in the name of freedom.
It seems as if Republicans believe in one Republican one Vote, the others can scratch!
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Our purchased politicians have forced our hands, and made it necessary for us to take to the streets.
I am warmed by all of the activism, don't get me wrong. I just wish it didn't have to happen because of a corrupt President, dirty cabinet members and a bought and paid for Congress.
They block American votes. They gerrymander to keep American voices from being heard. Thankfully, there are more of us than them!
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You got one thing wrong - in saying the US is an "affluent" country. No it is not. The US has not lived for the average citizen at an affluent level for at least 30 years.
Yes Ross, Democracy was the true winner this past week. So was a turn toward decency, truth, as well as respect as well women, minorities and those who served in our military.
Democracy took a step forward yesterday even though our President, Governor Scott and FOX News took steps backwards. False accusations and lies are still barking at full volume, but just don't seem to have the same bite today.
And lastly common sense seems to be up a few notches today. I feel I can talk more sensibly with those whom I politically disagree with today. And I sense that they too are not as on edge.
Like two gigantic beings that have been propelled apart since Trump won the nomination, I finally feel like we are moving closer together. I much prefer that trajectory.
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Universal voting by mail as advocated by Mr. Leonhardt would spell the end of the secret ballot, since many voters could be pressured into allowing their ballots to be approved by their employer, union boss, parents, spouse, party vote buyer, or mob enforcer. The voting booth was designed to prevent anyone but the voter from really knowing how he or she voted, with only limited exceptions for absentee voting.
Extending the voting booth period to say a week would serve the intended purpose without giving up on the secret ballot. The old objection to this is that it would make voting in multiple precincts easier, but that can be precluded with appropriate voter ID cards. In most cases these would double as drivers' licenses. For non-drivers, the DMV could simply issue a similar ID card with no driving privileges and at no charge.
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I just wanted to add a fact here that took me by surprise: Puerto Rico has a larger population than 20 existing states.
So, a territory with more residents than 20 states, every one of them American citizens, has zero votes in Congress - one non-voting member of the House of Representatives and zero Senators.
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@Steve Tripoli
While the District of Columbia is only larger than two states,Vermont and Wyoming. Currently the city is growing at a substantial rate and both Alaska and North Dakota are shedding population so DC could soon be the 5th most populous state. Again no representation in Congress.
The efforts of Trump, Scott, and Rubio to undermine the vote in Florida are outrageous. Someone ought to point out Scott's anger derives from his belief that he had so effectively suppressed minority voting and slow-walked all reinstatements of voting rights for felons who had served their sentences that he fully believed he would be able to cruise to victory.
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Ranked choice voting also had a good day Tuesday. If you're interested in other ideas for improving the electoral system, check out the FairVote website. A small, nonpartisan, growing set of very good ideas.
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@Viajara
Even before ranked choice is officially adopted for voting, the pollsters should adopt it to give a more informative window on voter preferences.
Suppose, for example, that one party had 17 candidates for president. One of them, candidate T, is the first choice of 20% of the primary voters, but is the last choice of the other 80%. Going into the primaries blind would show T winning all the early primaries and eventually becoming the media's favorite circus candidate. However, ranked choice polling would likely reveal that several of the other candidates were the strongest choice all along.
The only thing Republicans like even less than people voting is for the votes to be counted carefully. You'll notice how they oppose both, without shame.
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A mostly well thought out and reasoned piece by Leonhardt for improvements to registration, voting and the entire election process.
Yet, then he throws in standard liberal canards that are why so many conservatives laments biased perspective being presented as facts. To wit:
"Trump and this Senate won’t enact a new federal Voting Rights Act, nor will they grant the full rights of citizenship to the residents of Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico."
On the second point:
1) It is up to the people of PR to consider whether they want to be a state or a territory. They've voted numerous times on this matter and it has not been supported.
2) As to Washington DC, there is a path for them to gain representation - it's called retrocession. That is, DC would request to be re-incorporated in to its original home state, Maryland. Virginia did this back in 1846 when it took back its part of DC, which is now Arlington County.
"Our system — with workday elections, long voting lines and cumbersome registration rules — is designed to discourage mass participation."
True enough, but Leonhardt fail to consider another big factor for low voter turnout. A lot of American are too busy doing other things or just plain don't care to get out and vote. That is the privilege of living in a free country.
Yes, we need reforms like easier registration and mail-in voting, but don't underplay the responsibility of citizens to make the effort.
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@Common Sense
Thanks for the info on Retrocession. An interesting thought!
I guess it surprises you to see many voters in "red" states voting in favor of pro-democracy initiatives. Maybe you should learn something from this fact: stop demonizing voters who tend to vote Republican.
And if you had to wait for 45 minutes to vote, and I assume this was in New York City, maybe you should do some griping about some politicians in NY State and NY City rather than griping about that good old standby Don Trump. Probably the NY State Legislature has a lot more to do with voting rules in New York than Don Trump does. Seriously, the fact is that Don Trump is not the source of all evil in the country. We have these things called cities and states with governments and politicians and they are responsible for much in this country.
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Voting rights shouldn't even be a question in the year 2018. That in itself is a pity.
After decades of listening to Republicans holler that they're the "Real Americans" and patriots and that Democrats and liberals "hate America", are traitors, Commies (hello, Archie Bunker!), etc., that it is Democrats and liberals who, last week banded to gather to not only save our democracy and American values but that we had to save it from Republicans and the current Republican president, is rich with irony. Trump and a Republican-controlled Congress have shown me one thing, that our democracy is incredibly fragile and easily buried and broken with no checks and balances and good-faith political leaders; and proven another, that Republicans use the sacred to inflict the profane. Trump has certainly proven that their mantra of "Christian, moral and family values" and that "character counts!" was purely political, and now we can say that so was their "Real Americans", "Country over party!" shriek, and flag-pin-wearing jingoistic patriotism, totally bogus and disingenuous. Nothing more than the profane hiding behind the sacred in order to gain power. The GOP actively works to suppress voting, and when a recount is called for, they then actively work and even sue to stop vote counting, a la 2000, and even call it "stealing an election." Counting votes is now referred to as "stealing an election" by the US President and at least one state's Republican governor. Shameful.
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Suggestion for background reading on this topic and how we got to this point: "One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy," by Carol Anderson, professor of African-American Studies at Emory University and sometime commenter on these pages. Riveting, and inspiring! Thank you.
1 American should equal 1 vote. Including those Americans currently disenfranchised in DC and PR. And 1 should not equal 3 in priviledged states thru the artificial entity that is the Electoral College. The « popular vote » IS the vote. The Republican suppression is not only ugly and unAmerican, it is immoral.
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Let the people note what kind government and country they have,
America is not nor was it ever to be a democracy.
America is and was always intended to be a divided limited power constitutional republic of united states.
Americans who extoll and laud our so--called democracy are delusional, ignorant and still stupidly talking about how Mrs, William Jefferson Clinton won the popular vote by 3 million in 2016. So what? The only popular vote that matters is that in each of 50 sovereign states that determine the allocation of Electoral College votes. And none of the popular votes in any state count nor matter in any other state.
Until the Constitution was amended Americans could not vote for their U. S. Senator who the Founding Fathers originally intended to be elected by majority vote in state legislatures. After the Supreme Court of the United States, the Senate is the least democratic branch of our divided limited power constitutional republic. North and South Dakota have a combined population that is a million less than Los Angeles but they have four Senators.
While Americans directly elect their member of the House as noted by a recent NYT editorial there are too few members of Congress to give adequate democratic weight to more populous states. There is no ceiling on the size of the House.
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@Blackmamba There is no reason why a constitutional republic can't be a democracy. Many constitutional republics are democracies. All it's needed is for the citizens to make them so.
Furthermore, some constitutional republics are more democratic than others. It's up to the citizenry to decide how democratic they want their constitutional republic to be. And it looks like most Americans would like their constitutional republic to be a whole lot more democratic than it is right now.
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@Blackmamba "America is and was always intended to be a divided limited power constitutional republic of united states. "
??? Based on what?
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JIMMY CARTER Made history, as he is most likely the only president, past, present or future, who has ever sent a letter requesting that a candidate step aside. But Carter made that request of Kemp, who was running for governor--whose actions have shown a flagrant disregard for the law, for voting rights and for basic decency. Not to mention legality. Kemp has set himself up as overseer of the voting process while running as a candidate for governor. What is preposterous is that the people of Georgia would permit such illegal activity, which is a national disgrace. Kemp will go down in history as one of the most notorious violator of voting rights in US history. He will long be remembered as sa symbol of the GOPpers gone off the rails, attempting to subvert our democracy into a pluto-klepto-aristocracy.
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None of this means anything. Trump is an autocrat and will rule by executive order. May as well disband Congress and the Supreme Court.
1
A very simple and powerful electoral reform that could help restore confidence in the voting system by D's, R's, and most importantly Independents and non-voters, would be to pass a bill that all states must abide by which includes some form of the following provisions:
a. Develop clear and uniform deadlines that each county must adhere to for the counting and reporting of votes. When places like Broward County Florida announce an extra 80,000 votes days after the reporting deadline for preliminary vote totals, Republicans are rightfully dubious of the claim given that county's pivotal and controversial history in affecting elections.
b. Establish an easy to obtain national Voter ID that meets the critical requirements of ensuring that the voter is who he/she says they are, and is a legal citizen entitled to vote in the state/municipality for which they are registering. This would ensure that no one is disenfranchised and also that the vote is fair. Many nations do some form of this already (such as Mexico).
c. Implement a mandatory audit system to be conducted by a third party national accounting firm (before results are announced) so that the results from every county are statistically sampled for accuracy and veracity (Would you trust a critical heart medication whose producers never statistically sampled the production line to ensure the quantity of the key ingredient in the medication not over/under what the tablet said it was?)
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@ElectionEd - Not sure about a commercial firm doing the audit by I can see one huge advantage in having an audit before announcing the results - it would eliminate the terrible situation where results are being announced for some locations while polling places are still open in others. I'm all for a mandatory delay in announcing the results. And how about all locations announcing the results at one time - no 16 hour TV marathons on election night.
It is patently ridiculous, and grossly unfair, that any US citizen should have to miss work (and the pay commensurate with it) in order to vote. In Washington State, we vote by mail — and don’t even have to buy a stamp to return the ballot. I watch people travel long distances, wait in line for hours, in poor weather, and wonder why on earth they put up with such a system? Rise up, shepherds, and follow. We march for big issues, but this might be the biggest of them all. Everyone counts, or no one counts (Harry Bosch, in case you were wondering).
3
@Tami Garrow: In many states, there is a month or more of early voting, so that allows much more flexibility for those who want to avoid possible long waits on actual election day. Voting in the U.S. is not as bad as so many are complaining about.....nor is it a rigged system.
What's so sacred about pay-to-play? Isn't that what elections are all about?
1
It's patently ridiculous that the will of the people aka democracy, a method of governance that has caused the loss of millions of lives and uncountable amounts money by the US around the globe, is subverted here on its home turf. I wonder how foreign nations who have lost children and loved ones under the buzz of killer drones not to mention the US military who has given so much and been afforded so little care in return, thinks about this - did we really give so much for THIS? We should be a shining example of what is possible - and instead we are a sputtering corrupted candle - just bright enough to expose our fears and prejudices. Would you really want to die for this?
2
A very sensible article. Without the "fraud of fraud" (purging of voter rolls) Trump would not have been elected and Stacey Adams would have been last week (she may still). American citizens are smarter than their leaders, they know that democracy and health care matter a lot whereas Russiagate is a distraction. What is often forgotten is the environment although it's the most pressing issue and Trump is, of course, on the side of demented dinosaurs.
2
Why would the minority in power want the people to vote?
No reason I can think of.
2
While the article and comments make some good points they also miss others. Random thoughts:
Every citizen should be able to cast a ballot in a manner that is not so onerous as to prevent voting. That means sufficient polling places, voting positions and hours which accommodate working people.
Voting via mail or online might be convenient but lacks the cohesive, community building psychological impact of coming together to share in the process of government. That's why one day voting is so powerful. Perhaps election day should be a national holiday.
The process of democracy is thwarted by parties that refuse to put forward reasonable candidates.
While everyone who wishes to vote should be able to vote, not all should actually cast a ballot.
A good voter is one who takes the time to learn about the candidates, learn about the issues, is able to make reasonable and rational decisions about which candidates will serve the common good best. A good voter is one who recognizes and respects the innate dignity of each person.
A bad voter is someone who does none of the above, who votes for someone because they are the "white" candidate or because they are the "non-white" candidate. A bad voter is someone who votes to advantage an individual or small group at the expense of the greater good.
The "will of the people" can be a terrible thing - think of a religious minority put to death by the majority for failing to convert - majority rule can be mob rule.
2
one party wants every vote to count; the other does not
both sides don;t do it
5
If Abrams and Gillum are defeated by voter suppression, the "administrations" of their rivals are illegitimate.
1
We are being split into two nations in many ways. But the most threatening is that in one of our nations, the state encourages voting. In the other, state power is arrayed against its own citizens to make voting harder. In one of our nations, all who are citizens are encouraged to fully participate in selecting their representatives. In the other nation, one party tries to restrict the citizenship of those who don’t generally support it.
The scourge of anti-democratic behavior is mostly the result of the GOP - there is no voter suppression effort by the Democrats. But many citizens in states like mine have decided that neither party can be trusted to preserve democracy and assure fair elections. So we have created non-partisan commissions to draw voting district maps, taking away the power of both political parties to select their own voters. In California, we went further and created an electoral system where the top two vote winners meet in the general elections. That is intended to do exactly what has happened - allow moderates instead of zealots to be elected. In a couple of cases in the last two elections, that means that the Democratic Party favorites lost to other Dems who placed loyalty to the citizens ahead of loyalty to the party.
I have written more than a few letters to the NYT expressing my fear that 2020 could be the last real election in the USA if the GOP wins state elections and redistricting. I still feel that way. But I am more hopeful for democracy.
3
You forgot California. We've had a non-partisan redistricting board for years. While I was initially skeptical, I have to admit it has worked very well. I encourage others to adopt it.
In addition, Utah may yet pass such a bill too. It's still too close to call.
I worked at a voting precinct in California for the first time this election. I joined four other volunteers and worked a 15 hour day to see to it that this election took place and that every voter possible could vote. I left my house at 5:30am in the dark and returned at 10pm in the dark. It was such a stressful day that I literally was sick the next day. There were different forms to fill out for every problem that came up and then there were the many provisional ballots as many voters said they left their mail-in ballots at home or lost them.
I was amazed to witness this process and wondered how they could possibly get enough volunteers to work this difficult job. My thought throughout the day was that it would make so much more sense to have strictly vote by mail. And it would improve the counting process as it could be done as the votes come in rather than doing it all on election night. We need to improve our method of voting in order to secure our Democracy.
5
I did my best to get the youth to vote and it was hard really really hard. They didn't know they could register via cell phone and THAT made the difference. If we really want our citizens to vote in mass we need to allow voting via cell phones which for voting are as secure as anything we have going now.
3
In Canada, every citizen has the right to vote, no ifs, ans or buts. It's the only clause in our Charter of Rights and Freedoms that uses the word "citizen."
Now that I'm aware of how voting is restricted in the USA, I suspect that the framers of the Charter looked south of tghe border, and decided the right to vote had to be spelled out. Else it could be abridged, as it has been in the US.
7
Voting is made more difficult than it should be because vested interests want it to be. We can perform a financial transaction of a million $ on line with absolute accuracy, and yet many must stand in line for hours to cast their vote.
7
I always vote in person. I feel there is always a chance that absentee, vote by mail, early voting etc are easily hacked or issue like signature match etc come up. I want my vote to count and thus I always vote in person on election day.
I am totally opposed to same day registration, as the officials running the election do not have the time to verify an individual. If you have same day registration then those ballots should be put aside until the verification of the voter is checked out.
The problem with our voting is best symbolized by Brenda Snipes in Broward County. She is incompetent and should be removed from office. There needs to be standards set for voting officials chosen in an election.
I am appalled by the current mess in Florida. If you want voting integrity then we should return to paper ballots. All these fancy electronic voting machines are easily hacked, especially in Urban areas.
6
Voter ID laws, a solution that is seeking a problem. The fact is voter fraud is a non-issue, and is used by Republicans as a ploy to prevent "those" people from voting. If you are concerned about people having ID's, then make getting an ID easy and cheap. Why is it that college ID's are not accepted, but gun licenses suffice? Countries where citizens are required
If we are serious about expanding people's right and ability to vote, then let's have mandatory voting like Australia. Not only is voting compulsory, but they have voting on Saturday. Instead of having election day, let's have election week, which enables people who don't work a 9-5 schedule to have time to vote. The bigger the voter turn out, the better our government will be. Politicians respond to those who vote.
8
@Sandeep You're so right. I was a poll worker for several years. My state doesn't require ID. But there are a lot of other checks at the polling place. It would be hard to actually cast a fraudulent vote in my experience.
2
In my state, all voting is done by mail. No lines. No waiting. Ballots are sent about 2 weeks before an election and can be dropped off at various locations, or mailed in. Easy. No one has an excuse not to vote. Overall voter turnout was about 66%, with some counties' turnout as high as 80%. Nationally, it was only 49%, and that was considered a "record turnout." Clearly, something has to be done to improve voting in this country, where we claim to be so exceptional and democratic.
12
@Ms. Pea. Colorado, too.
New York is the worst for registration and voting which I always found surprising considering what a blue state it is. Very difficult to vote by mail and no early voting. So that’s why you were stuck waiting in line for 45 minutes.
This year I voted by mail which was extremely easy and only require that I post mark the ballad prior to election day. It also had the advantage of giving me an opportunity to look at the positions of races such as Ohio state score board and state judges while I filled out my ballot. I’ll never vote in person again. Allstate should have an opportunity for easy male loading.
3
The Democratic Party leadership needs to pay more attention to elections for state legislatures. They frequently seem only interested in elections for the big important national elections, and maybe a governorship or two. The result is democracy-endangering gerrymandering. I hope more states take steps to prevent or at least minimize that poisonous practice. That plus term limits would go a long way to supporting the democratic underpinnings of our republic.
3
Voting is a sure sign of a democracy and if this country wants to improve it's voting record then the entire country should take a look at and adopt the election process that the state of Oregon uses.
It's simple, cost effective and they have a larger turn out then most of the other states.
Go Oregon.
5
I agree. Let the people vote.
Those who are legally entitled to do so.
And no others.
No citizenship, no vote.
No registration, no vote.
No ID, no registration.
If you have to provide ID to see a podiatrist, you should certainly have to provide an ID to vote.
Do not restore voting rights for convicted felons. There is no reason to lessen the negative consequences of a life of crime.
And make Election Day a day off from work for everyone.
3
@Objectivist
If all of the states had the Oregon voting system, where every registered voter recieves and may return a ballot in the mail, the will of the majority would prevail, polling place grid lock would be eliminated, an unhackable paper trail would be irrefutable evidence of the vote and it would cost billions less.
10
@Objectivist We don’t need voter ID to make sure “only” citizens vote. This is a false flag. The most dogged republican investigators (local level, state level, national level) turn up no evidence, time and time and time again.
US citizens keep proving that “only” citizens vote now.
2
@Objectivist you don’t have to provide ID to a podiatrist if you pay cash
1
I have two wishes:
1) That owning a gun should be made as difficult as having the right to drive a car, and
2) That the right to vote should be made as easy as it currently is to own a gun.
50
The truest (and saddest) statement in this op-Ed piece is that Republicans “fear the popular will.” Today’s GOP does the bidding of its largest donors: the NRA, the Koch brothers, and other Super PACs who have no interest in the needs and desires of average citizens. Our democracy is being tainted by repeated Republican gerrymandering and interference with voters’ rights. The Democrats must make fair redistricting and enforcement of the Voting Rights Act main priorities when they become the House majority in early 2019...
21
If you really care about democracy you should support voter ID because it is important to make sure that only citizens vote and that other citizens know that only citizens voted.
Democracy is not a partisan issue and you should not make it such.
2
@Ludwig, it's REPUBLICANS who have made democratic norms a partisan issue, for -- CLEARLY -- exactly the reasons David Leonhardt cites here.
If my experience in three states is any indication, identification was required to register long before the GOP got into the game of requiring specific ID, based entirely on the TYPE of ID prejudicial against D voters, and making a non-driver's license state ID as difficult as possible to acquire.
For an example of the former, look no further than TX; the law passed there made a concealed carry permit acceptable, and a college ID unacceptable. What do you think the motivation there was?
4
@John D. I think it is an illusion to think that all our problems are caused by Trump or by the Republicans and that the solution is to bash them.
This way of thinking leads directly to divisiveness and to not being able to address and solve our problems which require bipartisanship.
It sounds from your posting that you approve of voter ID. But just to show that you are a "good guy" you have to combine this approval with Republican bashing. Actually, you can agree with Republicans "at times" without becoming a bad guy. Think about it. Be brave!
2
@Ludwig As is proved time and again, by very persistent investigators and watch dogs, only citizens vote now. This is a false flag.
1
In my opinion16 is too young to vote, drive a truck, or join the military, or do legal drugs without a prescription, or get married. In most sixteen olds the frontal cortex (which lets you predict the consequences of your actions) is in an early state of development. Their brains are still learning about moral decision making. In fact, they are programmed to rebel against their parents and test limits.
I would favor an eighteen year old age limit on all of these things, and I could be talked into going higher.
1
@McGloin
Yes- not until Civics is re- introduced into public schools, private and otherwise, should we consider lowering the age for voting. As a Bank Street College grad, I’m happy to report that Civics can begin in Pre-K as well. Young children as young as 3 can learn how neighborhoods, towns are organized, for starters, through project based learning. ( This exists in developmentally appropriate Pre K’s already). I’ve been canvassing for 5 months- spending lots of time at doorsteps, explaining to voters how our state legislature is organized, and the journey of a bill. Wow. We are so in need of Civics classes for 18 and up voters as well!
1
You comment about having to wait in line for 45 minutes on Election Day to vote. Does your state offer early voting options? One of the purposes of early voting is to diminish the Election Day lines.
Slightly off-topic but I just read that the Dems are proposing sweeping changes to voting rights, Citizens' United and adjustments to some presidential loopholes. Mitch McConnell (ever the master strategist) is already labeling these reforms as "presidential harassment." Of course, he should know about this topic given the way Republicans treated President Obama.
Never forget when you don't vote, or allow others to elect dishonest representatives, you get the likes of Donald Trump, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell.
Time to start paying attention, get involved, quit accepting the outright dishonesty of the Republicans and for heaven's sake vote.
26
Look closely at the Photo. There is absolutely NO valid excuse for these lines. The underlying strategy is to discourage Voting. Especially in Neighborhoods likely to cast their Votes for Democrats. ENOUGH. Voting by Mail, Nation wide.
Seriously.
14
America has always had a pro-democracy movement. Thank you.
1
How about voting day becoming a mandatory national holiday with the caveat that you bring proof that you actually voted? Otherwise, no day off. Kinda like the old days with doctor’s notes. So many ways to make this easier....
3
There has been very little reporting on the long lines, machine breakdowns and ballot confusion on Election Day in New York City, a Democrat stronghold. Can’t blame that one on the Republicans, so it must not be news.
1
@Larry
If there's very little reporting on it how do you know about it? And how does your source know about it?
Or maybe it isn't news because it didn't happen beyond the normal stuff that happens at every election.
1
@W. Freen, anyone with access to a television or the internet knows about it, but not those who only read this newspaper. The point is that Republicans are not exclusively responsible for election problems.
Voting should be a controlled system of IDs at the polls. I don't want to see universal mailings that can be abused, or even having younger than 18 vote. Clean the system up as it is already. Florida still can't get it right. But if you're trying to enact your "blue wave", it was more like a "ripple" on election night. Blah.
2
Funny, the vote-by-mail states have experienced no "abuse" whatsoever, and even the GOP election concern-trolls can't find any problem with it. The thinking expressed in the above comment is the product of a fevered, partisan imagination.
2
@SecondChance Vote-by-mail has been successful for many years in WA, OR and other states. Please educate yourself.
2
Yes, and we need parental votes for their children, the largest group of disenfranchised citizens.
America isn’t a democracy, it’s a constitutional representative republic. A democracy is 50% plus 1. It is mob rule.
We don’t want democratic rule. We don want mob rule. We want our republic restored.
2
@Cjmesq0 It astounds me that people keep posting this meaningless talking point. Representative democracy does not equal "mob rule". We live in a democratic republic with a constitution. That's all that term means. Most republics have constitutions. Our Republic, like many, if not most, is a representative democracy.
1
Your column gives hope but there is still much to be done before we can take democracy off the endangered list. The Republicans still hold the WH, the Senate, state houses and state legislatures, and while they do, given what we have seen of them, democratic norms are being shelved and the Constitution - except for the 2nd Amendment - is being shredded. At this point, pick the state you want to live in because that is where democracy will thrive or die.
2
The federal union of states that is the United States is a carefully considered and well balanced system of government that addresses many of the issues that could cause a disintegration of the Union. Many of the suggestions in this article and its comments advocate for movement towards “one person, one vote” provisions that would unfairly give control of the country to a few very populous states, some of which don’t want to require proof of citizenship before voting. There is nothing wrong with living in a small, low population or rural state and those who do should not be demonized by the fiction that their votes count more than others.
1
@Larry I agree with you. Attempts to move away from federalism are shortsited. The beauty of our system is that someone in California is not constrained by what is law in Florida and vice versa.
Frame voting as a civic duty. (compulsory voting).
Any system must be capable of audit.
Electoral system run by independent commission.(including electoral boundaries, voting places etc).
Only politicians on the ballot.
Discard Tuesday for Saturday as voting day.
Auto registration of all US citizens.
5
Its about time that Americans are waking up.
There is no democracy in a nation where any person is above the law. Yet most Republican politicians don’t yet dare say outright what their leader Donald Trump already has: That only their party should have political rights, and only their political enemies should be investigated or prosecuted by the Justice Department, but when you follow the actions of the GOP that’s where you end up.
4
At this point just establishing democracy as a value is important. Post-Trump lies a chance to begin turning what is not (even without him) half-way to what it needs to be, into more of a beacon to the world than it has been.
3
I still have yet to read from any Times reporter the reasons why it is very foolish and gives the GOP fits of dictatorial ecstasy, when voters send their ballots in by mail. Mail in ballots are always the last to be counted and depending on where in the US, in many cases, mail in ballots-whether to vote early, or to vote from home, 6 months ahead of time, allow the people running the counting operations to move the ballots around, and allows people working at the US postal service-many of whom have their own agenda, and who we constantly upbraid for slowness and inefficiency, to move ballots to locked rooms, or seperate them depending whether they originate from Blue or Red areas as their return addresses and bar codes will state on the envelope's front.
By mailing in a ballot, it does not matter that it is sealed. It is unimportant that it is early, late or from another galaxy-the ballot's vote can be deduced by a voter's place of origin. To mail ballots is to tell the mail handlers who you are and who you are voting for.
When people vote on election day, in person, they are more sure of being counted-instantly. People who mail in ballots can only be pretty sure that they might be counted, or, they may not. Many mail in ballots have been dumped like X-mas cards. Seems like a bad bet and not much better than our health care system.
If you want to COUNT-Vote on election day-IN PERSON!
1
Rick Scott's lawsuit over the legislated date for counting is a very interesting example of how to suppress the vote by preventing an unexpected onslaught of votes that cannot be counted within a few days of the election.
7
America has always be a democracy. Those screaming otherwise are simply pouting over results they don't like.
Dems have a slight majority in the House but the real power lies in the Senate. The GOP will appoint a few dozen more Judges to the courts before years end and continue to do so in the future.
Recounts show that democracy also works with a little screaming from both sides.
It would be good to truly have universal voting. GOP Jim Crow tactics have been normalized by the Roberts Court gutting the Voting Rights Act which had almost unanimously been recently reauthorized by Congress. We need a Voting Rights Act again that can be applied across the nation as needed.
Voter suppression is smothering democracy like a blanket. Republicans laugh about how my former Democratic congressman John Barrow was redistributed three times so he practically had to have a mobile office on wheels. There should be independent nonpartisan redistricting and a new more effective FEC. Barrow ran for Secretary of State to replace Kemp and is heading for a Nov. 4th run off. Harvard Law educated and veteran legislator, he could clean up the situation in Georgia.
A better president than Trump or a better Congress than the GOP one we've had would establish a bipartisan independent commission for voting along with moneys to implement any recommendations or laws that were enacted.
Forget Secretaries of State or governors who are themselves candidates having the power to control voting and the vote count. That is corrupt banana republic territory and should be illegal.
Ensure as part of the commission's mandate that there is nationwide electoral security to prevent foreign or domestic interference with elections.
Democracy is not just being eroded but is being strangled by those abusing their power, voter suppression, propaganda, and campaign finance corruption.
7
My friend’s absentee ballot evidently will not count. She is on hospice in the late stages of an illness, can no longer speak, but is fine cognitively. She has voted in person hundreds of times over the past decades, and this time indicated through eyeblinks that she wanted to vote absentee, with a democrat ticket as always. Her partner mailed the ballot back about October 20, from a US Post Office. When I learned a few days ago that some absentee ballots may be in danger, i checked a government website and saw that in our ultra-close governor’s race, the status of my friend’s vote showed the date the ballot was mailed to her, but the “received” column was blank.
Through anxious calls to the Democratic Party of Georgia and the Stacey Abrams campaign, we found out there is nothing we can do about this because we cannot prove the ballot was mailed. We learned from two friends that the site showed their ballots were received, but we wonder how many besides my friend ‘s were not seemingly not counted. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that hers wasn’t, though she may have overheard the phone calls.
4
There are two aspects to democracy: Free, fair, elections, and a proper, representative selection of candidates to vote for.
The number of women and minorities is encouraging, but we must never give up the fight to overturn Citizen's United, and roll back the poisonous influence that money encourages.
The money which corrupts our elections is still 'choosing' our candidates for us. Without a fair selection of candidates our true votes are not really being counted.
5
I wholeheartedly agree. It is also good to see that at least some people have woken up to the necessity of managing global warming (I assume that is why 43 percent saw the “environment” as a major issue).
That said, I would hope that as a part of America finding its way to being more “democratic,” and allowing felons the right to vote, Democrats would find their way to respecting due process: an outrageous example of this lack of respect was demonstrated during the Kavanaugh hearing, in which a 35-year old unconfirmed incident was touted as fact, and “believe survivors” became the mantra du jour.
No. Innocent until proven guilty beyond the shadow of a doubt is how democratic justice works, whether it is a courtroom, a Senate hearing, a job interview, or a Senate-led job interview. If you can’t respect due process for a Supreme Court justice I am not sure why you would expect corporations to respect equality of hiring of former “proven” criminals.
1
The American public is now wise to republican tactics to suppress Democratic votes - and we're going to do whatever it takes to ensure our votes are counted. Times up.
10
The most effective blocks against a true democracy in this country are the Senate and the electoral college. The over representation of underpopulated states whose interests do not coincide with the country's majority has made the government unresponsive to the wishes of people living in urban areas. It is important to build in protection for minorities to avoid them being exploited but the present system is too heavily biased in favor of one third of the population. The remedy is some constitutional amendment, but since it requires approval by 3/4 of the state that will never happen. What is possible is to enact rules in the Senate such as requiring that legislation of great import cannot be passed without at least some percentage of votes from the party in opposition. This provides minority protection while also decreasing the power of minority overrepresentation in the Senate.
4
@serban I agree with protection of the filibuster. If we were to amend the constitution for just one thing, my choice would be to make the filibuster permanent and not within the senates power to change.
Until we get rid of the Electoral College, voter suppression laws and big money in politics, some votes always count more than others. Which means we have no real democracy.
5
@Christy You do live within a democracy. It’s just not a federal democracy.
Mr. Leonhardt you say, "The United States finally has the pro-democracy movement that it needs."
What country do you live in? You keep talking about America like it's something outside yourself. It's YOUR America, too.
The real point is that WE THE PEOPLE - average Americans across America who value the lives we have led - are finally standing up for ourselves for the first time in the 40+ years since the Koch brothers and their Robber Baron brethren started their hostile financial takeover of OUR United States of America government, and governments at all levels so they can destroy them.
It's decades past time but not too late. WE THE PEOPLE can/will stop them. WE are the only ones who, with the help of the media, can/will stop them.
3
Having elections on a Tuesday instead of a Sunday is making it even harder for many people. I don't understand why the US system makes it harder than necessary to vote.
6
A simple truth that seems to be ignored is that from its inception, the USA has been a reluctant union of states. It continues to be. And the composition of the Senate is one of the most glaring examples of that. Two seats per state was a compromise made to get the smaller colonies to join the union. That compromise has become a constant reminder that we were formed as a republic, not a democracy - that any political system that gives the vote of a citizen in Wyoming nearly 70 times the weight of a citizen in California is not a democracy.
The values and needs of people living in small, rural and largely homogenous states should be respected and considered. But they have absolutely no legitimate claim to understanding what it takes to support the lives of people who live in large urban communities. To give them the extraordinarily outsized influence they now have on public policy is not respect for their values and needs, it is a tyranny of the few over the many.
10
Illegal voting is the rationale for opposing easier voting.
The judicial system is by way politics, and the appointments of judges for
life in federal appeals courts of course has its way of denying reform a la
the SOCUS ideological if not overtly partisan reality.
Ultimately good will, honesty, sincerity, ethics and integrity are major components.
Voters are seemingly aware of what goes, and fairness depends upon subjectivity and implicitly the complexities of culture, and so "legal perfection" is worthy but inherently impossible.
Our nation is not yet a Venezuela, while everybody ought to be concerned about political
extremism left and right, which we ought to fear.
How about holding elections on Veterans Day? Not only are people are off from work but what better way to honor Vets than to exercise the right they defended.
13
@Patrick Flynn Where I live, there are weeks of early voting, and a lot of people vote early, which really cuts down on election day lines at the polls, but I still think your idea is a good one and in combination with early voting and voting by mail would give everyone a fair chance to vote. Of course, not everyone is off work at the same time -- cops, hospital workers, parents whose kids are out of school for the day, and the press come to mind -- but many are.
2
Hello from Michigan, where we just passed a ballot initiative to create an independent citizens redistricting commission to end gerrymandering. We won in the face of massive obstacles, including a political establishment that tried to destroy us with lawsuits and lies. Our all-volunteer force of petition
circulators gathered some 430,000 signatures to put it on the ballot. Our all-volunteer force of canvassers knocked hundreds of thousands of doors to educate the voters, many of whom had not previously heard of redistricting. The result: Proposal 2 won 61% of the vote, winning in 66 of Michigan's 83 counties, red, blue, and purple. I hope that everyone who is commenting here is also taking direct action to the fullest extent of their abilities.
21
Democracy is more than voting. It is needs to be sewn into the very fabric of everything we do. Voting only happens once or twice a year. Democracy is something we can be part of every day.
9
The United States was never intended to be a democracy -- it is a Constitutional Republic. Democracy was warily viewed as a pretext for mob rule by some of our founders, including Thomas Jefferson, who wrote extensively on the subject and warned against it. Democracy sounds good, until it doesn't. Mr. Leonhardt writes about democracy as if the progressive and left-leaning forces will always triumph. History has shown that is not always the case.
7
@John Jabo Oh boy, here we go again. You're repeating the extremely empty talking points of those who are trying to justify rigging our democracy against the will of the people. The terms "democracy" and "republic" are not mutually exclusive. A quick civics course here: The United States as a democratic republic, is a representative democracy. Meaning that it choses its leaders and representatives through elections, and that the supreme power is held by the people (rather than a monarch). The term "constitutional republic" merely means it is a republic with a constitution, (which, in most cases, sets forth the structure and checks and balances that prevent mob rule), joining other republics such as France, Ireland, Germany, Finland, Iceland, Italy, Greece, Iran, Iraq, China, Korea, etc. Having universal suffrage, direct presidential elections, and a better system implement fair elections do not engender mob rule, nor do they have anything to do with the status of this Republic. Interestingly, direct democracy does exist in the United States, in the form of the New England Town, a system where several times per year, voters in most towns in five of the six New England states assemble to vote on the matters and affairs of their town. Even this is held in check by rules of order, and the boards of selectmen (the executive in a New England town -towns do not have mayors or councils, only cities do). It's an interesting system and encourages voter participation.
5
In some states the voting process has been seriously impeded. In others (automatic registration, vote by mail, early voting) it seems to work quite well. It would be helpful if the media (NYTimes, that means you) would run columns regularly - once a week? - identifying and describing voting systems that are broken - those which purposely discriminate by race, party or other means, or which just deny people their right to vote, those which are susceptible to hacking, or those where the voting machines or processes are old and too cumbersome. The American public has a short attention span and these issues fade from the front page in a few days or a week or so. If there was a regular reminder of the problem it might be easier for people to demand that their state and local governments move towards more accessible and reliable voting systems. The media can help here. Will they?
9
This is an excellent idea. Please NY Times, cover the voting situations in places that run smoothly and the places where voting is purposely hindered.
I have to disagree with the part about 16 year olds. Research shows that the decision-making and executive functions of the brain mature in the mid-20, a decade later. I don’t see what giving 16-year olds a say over the school board buys us. The responsibilities of citizenship should be awarded incrementally in concert with a growing ability to handle them. Please don’t make comparisons to military service at 18.
10
@DenisPombriant
Maybe it provides freedom from this:
An actual national party platform plank was proposed by Texas GOP that could have provided the means for the total victory of the Republican party for generations to come.
No, it's not one that proposes repeal of the Voting Rights Act; It's the one they proposed to eliminate the teaching of critical thinking skills in schools, because "critical thinking challenges a student's fixed beliefs."
What a great plank!
Just imagine if all critical thinking were eliminated; No pesky scientists, journalists, facts, or atheists to contradict what the Texas GOP base just knows to be true.
If the examination of facts and the ability to reach logical conclusions were eliminated, and not held as a positive attribute of human thinking, then Trump would be as venerated by all the new, non thinking Americans as they are by the Texas GOP base.
Hallelujah!
14
@DenisPombriant: Agreed. Most 16 year-olds have never had any real economic responsibilities, and tend to look to mom and dad to solve most problems. As voters they would be inclined to vote that everything should be free and all problems should be turned over to the government--a prescription for disaster.
1
Let me get this straight about the American voting system.
If voters - people who have the right to vote for either party - choose to vote for Republican Party candidates, that's anti-democratic. But if voters - people who have the right to vote for either party - choose to vote for Democrat Party candidates, that's pro-democratic.
Got it.
6
@Maurice Gatien
Correct. The GOP knows it loses when more people vote. That's why Kobach in Kansas and Kemp in Georgia (and the party everywhere it is in state power) limited polling places and made registration more difficult.
Got it now?
17
@Maurice Gatien
You've obviously never taken a logic course.
1
@Maurice Gatien
No, you don’t have it right at all.
In Florida, it seems the opposite is true, the Governor, running for the Senate, the current Senator and President, all Republicans, specifically don’t want votes from Democratic districts counted.
1
What a sad statement it is about our country, which used to be the beacon of representative government for the world, that there needs to be a "pro-democracy movement" here.
15
Tell me that "In Florida - a state divided nearly equally between right and left" isn't just another attempt to limit the possible range of political choice to Democrats and Republicans. Sorry, the Democrats are not the the left any more than Republicans are the right. They are two parties employed by corporate America to give the illusion of choice between whatever corporate America finds acceptable. It appears that a majority of Americans realize this and respond by not voting at all.
3
@Steve Bruns, as an independent voter, far to the left of either party, I find the argument made by Mr Burns to be utterly cynical and, given the current White House occupant, unfathomable. While no fan of many policies put forward by the Obama Administration I can discern the daylight between Obama and Trump...and I also understand that these two very different presidents are products of their respective parties. If everyone voted Trump would never have been President...and our country would be much better off...
1
@GustavNYC The Trump and Obama difference is primarily one of style. Obama, the smooth salesman of the oligarchy, lulled the populace to sleep with bipartisan bromides, implementing Heritage Foundation policies while he was in full control of the government. Trump is the American ruling class in all its raw, naked glory, telling us what we are going to get and when, no matter what we might have thought we were voting for. And the Empire marches on.
"Never be deceived that the rich will allow you to vote away their wealth." Lucy Parsons
1
There is no panacea, but improving access to the vote is about increasing every citizens engagement in the process, not advancing a particular view. I am disappointed that this opinion follows the usual formula that avoids discussing the national elephant (pun intended) in the room - proportionate representation and abolishing the electoral college. I have never heard an explanation of the need for the electoral college that explains why it continues to exist.
11
@Chris Clark The Electoral College exists because there is no such thing as a national election and there was never intended to be. You’re voting within your locality, district, and state. When you vote for President, you are voting for someone who represents the state you live in. Essentially, the states, by way of the votes of their citizens, are electing the President. We have a federalist government for a reason. There are a number of safeguards against tyranny. Government is responsive and citizens are more empowered to participate because government is not centralized.
1
@John The Electoral College takes away the main incentive to vote for president - namely that my vote will make a difference and count towards the result no matter where I live. If I live in a state that is clearly blue or red, my vote counts for little in choosing the President. If I live in Florida, Ohio, or Pennsylvania, my vote is massively important - a recipe for non-participation and worse yet, exposes us to manipulation and fraud as Russia demonstrated in our last Presidential election.
1
I have three wish’s for ballot initiatives.
1. Do not call any race until all ballots are counted
2. Get rid of the Electoral College
3. Term limits for both the House and Senate. Two 4 year terms for the House. Two 6 year terms for The Senate.
24
@JeanIm not a fan of term limits. A seasoned representative has developed relationships with constituents and other legislators thereby having greater capacity to be effective. Secondly, as a voter, term limits restrict my right to vote for whomever I want. They're a band-aid - not a solution and would be not under discussion if we funded elections via taxation and outlawed all private campaign contributions.
2
@Jean
Agree with all, especially number 3.
1
@Philip
So far those who have been in Congress for too long have forgotten their normal constituents
It’s all about the lobbyists
1
I agree whole heartedly.
A few years ago, when Maine's GOP Republican-controlled legislature repealed same-day voter registration, I canvassed for signatures to put it on the ballot. When I knocked on a neighbors door who was conservative -- and most particularly if they had grandchildren -- I talked to them about turning their grandchildren into live-long voters, and asked how they thought same-day voter registration's repeal might discourage that. And I'm proud to say that even my most conservative neighbors were appalled, and happy to sign to maintain same-day registration the law of the state.
I think there's one other thing at risk with democracy; and that's the function of the free press.
Too much political advertising on TV fosters irritation with candidates and mental exhaustion for constituents; I think limits on the amount of air-space political advertising can fill might be something to consider carefully.
And there is too much un-rebutted propaganda. I'm an old bird, and I miss the fairness doctrine, the days where, if one person spouted an opinion on TV, opposing views also had opportunity to express their opinion. I would seek some way to return that balance to broadcasts.
34
@Rebecca I'd love to see a complete overhaul of the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates. Those held in the last election were nothing but a joke!
1
This is all well and good until these laws and actions go before the Republican Supreme Court and get overturned on nakedly political grounds. We won’t be able to undo the damage from the 2016 election in my lifetime.
13
@Mike
Next step: term limits for federal judges, including those on the Supreme Court.
@jeito and after that, UNICORNS for every child!
It’s taken many years to dig our country into this Political Quagmire and I suppose it’s going to take at least a little more time to craw our way back, but at least it’s a start!
The Political Pendulum is now moving more towards the center which is great. The problem for all of us is if by nature, it now moves too far to the Left.
3
@Eric Cosh...."...too far to the left." Do you mean "too much freedom of choice ?"
I have been working intermittently for OneVirginia2021, a group seeking to end gerrymandering in our state.
Sadly, I encountered many conservative voters who rebuffed even discussing gerrymandering in their heavily Republican district because they felt ending it would help the Democrats.
They were unable to understand the two realities:
1. In time, the Democrats would gain ascendancy and, without reform, would just as likely pervert district lines to their advantage.
2. By establishing safe districts, increasingly extreme views will be encouraged in both red and blue regions. Polarization will intensify and with it, governance will calcify.
We can do better and we must.
16
@Douglas McNeill Please explain point #2 to our Supreme Court, which endorses majority-minority districts based on race.
1
Sorry -- not a panacea. People vote knowing nothing about whom or what they are voting for. (E.g. the three proposals on the NYC ballot -- which should have been voted out in two if not all three of the cases were approved. Often awful people do get elected-- and I am not talking Trump.
I don't know what the solution might be but voting -- and voting the party line strictly is no win for Democracy which requires that we know both the issues and the candidates -- try to get this information can be nearly impossible.
1
“It comes from this general concern about democratic institutions not being reflective of the will of the people...”
It’s perhaps surprising that campaign reform was not a proposed topic. It’s been clear for some time that our representatives are increasingly disconnected from the interests of their constituents. Reelection, not representation, has become the name of the game.
Term limits and campaign finance reform are critically important efforts to pursue. The longest tenured representatives reflect the greatest disengagement from their constituents. Several incumbents lost because they rarely visited or met with voters. O’Rourke and others ran quite well without corporate or dark PAC money.
It’s a sign of hope that voters turned out to speak their minds. However, The success of the Democratic Process lauded by this column is in spite of, not due to, our current electoral rules.
5
Suffrage itself means nothing in the face of the ongoing tyranny of wealth that Americans must endure. Regardless of which shambolic party, themselves stale warmed-up leftovers from the long-ago 19th century, in a country that has trouble remembering the events of 15 days past, is elected, only one thing is certain. The inescapable domination of our "representative" branch by the multinationals and other superwealthy entities like the Koch siblings is ongoing. The wealthy and the empowered corporations will always prevail and we the little people will pay the taxes that they succeed in avoiding while they show boundless contempt for our real lack of power.
9
Every proposal to amend the constitution to eliminate the electoral college, change the structure of the congress, reduce the power of the states, etc., is a non-starter. No state legislature would approve any of these things, they are the heart of state sovereignty. The only way around this is to up-end the constitution and start over--in effect, revolution! Anyone who thinks about this for only one minute would recoil in horror. Democrats (both big 'D' and small 'd'), should stop wasting their time on this and get to work within the system to elect, elect, elect. When (if) they regain national political power their enthusiasm for constitutional change will mysteriously fade.
9
Well the house can increase its size with legislation and if passed by the house and the Senate refuses that may just be what is needed to challenge the Senate to be afraid of looking too partisan. Ha!
We need three Constitutional amendments to fix the problem in federal elections: 1) either eliminate the Electoral College or award electoral votes in each state proportional to the popular vote (rather than “winner take all”); 2) require non-partisan commissions in each state to redistrict every ten years after the federal census; 3) one that clearly states that corporations are not people and do not have the same rights as individuals to “free speech” in the form of campaign contributions.
49
I would add to your good suggestions making elections a national holiday or a two day affair over a weekend. Ramp up voting by mail and early voting. Make all voting systems and procedures consistent across the country.
Most importantly: Count every vote. If we fail to do that we've failed as a participatory democracy.
22
@David Glassberg
If you arent going to allow corporations to donate, then you have to stop unions to - if you were really interested in leveling the playing field.
3
@Sports Medicine
When corporate executives and board members are elected by shareholders and employees, you can make that comparison.
The proper place of organizations such as unions and corporations is as lobbyists, not direct participants in funding election campaigns.
1
It is important to remember that the United States did not become a truly "consolidated liberal democracy" until the year 1965, just 53 years ago following passage of the Voting Rights Act. Misgivings about democracy in the United States are quite strong among a large segment of the population.
All the people writing in unison "We are a republic, not a democracy" appear to see nothing wrong with restricting access to the franchise. In this decade, it has become a standard right-wing talking point that America would function better (for their preferred people) if the right to vote were restricted on the basis of property ownership and/or net payment of federal income tax. So a strong and active pro-democracy movement is essential and people must never take anything for granted.
17
@AR
Agreed.
Republic. Democracy. Both are meaningless terms when the People cannot vote. Some folks have an interesting (frightening) definition of personhood.
1
NO TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION in VOTING
A prominent election-reform nonprofit is expected shortly to file a lawsuit against the election commission of a Southwest state claiming that it should not use taxpayer money to finance closed party primaries in which non-party-registered (independent) taxpayers cannot vote.
Closed primaries keep centrist voters from the candidate selection process, driving parties and candidates to the extremes of the political spectrum and fostering hyper-partisanship. Opening closed primaries is one of the most powerful ways to restore constructive functioning to our government.
Keep your eye out for this lawsuit, support it, and help it multiply to all states with closed primaries!
7
I think primary elections should not be by party or binding but options for the party to support so minor candidates can’t survive long unless they appeal to different states
I also would suggest that $100 be given to each voter only to contribute to federal elections over each 2 year period and with it a voter registration application. Vote it in when Democrats have a majority in both houses to go into effect immediately. It would devalue CU and would be almost impatience take away once people were given that.
The only thing I disagree with is voting by US mail. This is exactly what is holding up the count (not the recount) in Arizona. Unless the counting of mail-in ballots is done in a more modern method, this is counter productive.
Election day should be a holiday, for sure. Early voting should be automatically established for a month before election day.
Voting machines, the kind that scans in paper ballots marked with a pen, should be as ubiquitous as ATM machines for a month before election day. If access to cash can be managed with secure systems, so can voting machines.
6
"On Election Day, I had to wait in line for 45 minutes, even though I have a job that gives me the luxury of voting in the middle of the day."
On the other hand, I live in a very rural, low population density area. When I get there, I have sometimes found as many as four people in line ahead of me. Actually, in 19 years of voting, that only happened once.
On the other hand, when I come in, the poll watchers don't have to look at the list to know that I'm "the democrat." This is one of the tacit undemocratic aspects of our system. Rural areas, where the majority tends to be Republican, have little trouble with long voting lines. Those lines show up in the high population density areas where most Democrats vote.
8
on 20 Oct 18 we marked our ballots and put them in the slot. The entire process took us 1 hour. The ballots came to our secured mail box along with other mail. We discussed a few of the issues and had read our voters pamphlet that came the preceding week.
The NYT editorial favoring proposition 1631 by initiative was just wrong. I had to read that proposal 3 times before I clearly understood its importance. I have very strong views about global warming. As a retired professional chemist I have done a great deal of reading about this issue. Air pollution is caused by the combustion of fossil fuels, and forest fires. The last item has injected enormous quantities of CO2 into the air along the west coast for atleast 3 years. There are steps that could be taken to reduce these fires but due to the peculiarity of western states forest management laws nothing will ever be done about this major health hazard.
We have approved in Washington 3 propositions to install much needed public transportation. The resulting entity, Sound Transit(ST), uses poor engineering which has limited the utility of the light rail system. Traffic in my fair city is still jammed and is getting worse. The biggest error is lack of parking. Land is expensive but parking buildings are essential for increased usage. The elevators and escalators are constantly failing because ST chose to purchase cheap versions and it will likely take several years to get them replaced, cost 10 million dollars.
3
Mr. Trump as the unavoidable Republican candidate has a huge advantage over his Democratic opponent in november '20 who will have only 2 month to recuperate from the often bruising and always expensive nomination process.
Doesn't the pro-democracy voice of America needs to be heard sooner than after the Democratic convention of august '20?
Isn't it possible for the Democrats to expedite (and preferably reform) the primary cycle?
3
Lately in the NYT I have seen columns calling for such things as changing elections from Tuesdays, discouraging third-party candidacies, eliminating the constitutional mandate for two senators from each state, altering the total number of justices on the Supreme Court and/or their term lengths, eliminating the Electoral College, and invoking the 25th Amendment or impeachment for the current president.
None of these things will happen soon. The GOP has worked long and hard for control of the judiciary, fostering dark money in politics, gerrymandering and voter suppression, and debasement of the presidency. It will be a long road back with no easy, sweepstakes-like solutions.
Democrats need to stay focused on bread-and-butter issues: better health care for all, protecting Social Security and Medicare, and better-paying jobs with better benefits. These are the glaring gaps in the Republican agenda. They need to talk about the unfair GOP tax cuts and their effects on the deficit and national debt, credit-card and student-loan debt, the need for domestic infrastructure improvements, and shoring up public education. They need to consider stances on climate change and immigration that will not alienate half of voters. They need to be wary of hot-button topics like LGBT bathrooms which, frankly, are low on the radar for most of the country.
Democrats need to field smart and charismatic candidates who will be ready for the marathon to come. They are the ones who will win the race.
10
I am encouraged for the first time during the Trump presidency. I am sad that it took a tyrant to wake up America. We have had these issues for a long time. Don't forget that anti-immigration rhetoric also keeps likely Democrats from the polls.
2
@Anthony by likely Democrats, do you mean illegals? Who else was kept from the polls?
@Jackson New American citizens. Not difficult to understand. I've seen Blacks and Hispanics questioned about their citizenship even when they present adequate ID.
1
Be a little careful. Postal voting is much more open to fraud than voting in person. There have been cases in Britain where the head of household fills in the ballot papers on behalf of other members of his family. It's virtually impossible to prove, but the risk is there. Better to have more polling stations with more staff, to reduce the queues.
11
The Fifteenth Amendment does not ban restricting the right to vote using age or wealth or mobility or a driver's license, just race, color, or previous condition of servitude. So these sorts of restrictions are allowable under a conservative interpretation of the constitution, and restrictions that are not officially racial but have different effects on different races are allowed. It is allowed to make it more difficult for some people to vote (by long lines or short and inconvenient times and locations) as long as it is not made explicitly impossible.
We should have a law or constitutional amendment that when lines to vote are more than 15 minutes long in consecutive elections, or when they are unequally long for precincts with a history of voting for different parties, something should happen. Perhaps the people who run the elections or design and plan the election processes should be jailed unless they can prove that the long or unequal waits were the product of unexpected and unforeseeable circumstances.
This would enforce the intent of the Fifteenth Amendment rather than what it literally says and only that. Since at the time of Reconstruction photo IDs did not exist, requiring them (and making them expensive and difficult for some sorts of people to obtain) is not unconstitutional. Such is the stupidity of lawyerly thinking.
1
The American system is peculiar in that we have both too much democracy and too little. The too -little part is documented in this article: weekday voting, long lines to the polls, etc. The too-much part has to do with the fact that things that should not be on the ballot, are. Why should we elect judges? This is a professional position that requires expertise which most voters are not qualified to evaluate. In most European countries judges are appointed by the judiciary. And what about the endless propositions on the ballot in California? It is the job of politicians to pass laws and regulations. This is why we elect them. But they apparently want all the perks of the office without the hard work of actually legislating. The same with the tedious debate about voter IDs. Why shouldn’t the government - state or federal - simply issue obligatory IDs to all citizens? Then it’ll be up to you to have it when you show up at the polls. Incidentally, this will also pave the way for some form of universal healthcare because it’ll clearly have to distinguish between citizens and non-citizens.
8
Remember one person one vote? America must support the Popular Vote amendment. Throw out the Electoral College, an outworn vestige of the Eighteenth Century.
34
@dbsweden And I'd add in representation in the Senate. California, TX, FL etc should have many mire senators than Iowa and the Dakotas. Our system was designed in the 18th century to prevent tyranny by the majority. Now we have tyranny by the minority.
20
@dbsweden The electoral college and 2 senators per state was created to protect low citizen/high slave population states and slavery. It's time for them to go the way of slavery-along with vestiges of Jim Crow and racism. We are all human beings, and according to Christians, children of God.
1
@dbsweden so only New York and California would need to vote.
Many commenters here have called for the abolition of the Electoral College. Fine with me. I don't see that happening, however, because that would require a Constitutional convention and then every issue would be up for grabs. A workable intermediate position between the Electoral College and direct popular election would be to abandon winner take all elections and base votes on the candidates' proportion of the votes in each state. So, for example, if a candidate gets 55% of her state's vote, she should get 55% of the state's vote in the Electoral College. Elections will be much closer and two other beneficial results would be likely. First, candidates will be less likely to run to the extremes. Working the center will prove to be a better strategy. Second, the votes in the Electoral College will better reflect the will of the electorate. This change would not require a constitutional amendment, though it would require action taken in each state.
20
Actually there are two other ways around the electoral college (rotten burroughs) problem: 1) a few more states adopt the popular vote compact; giving theirs to the popular vote winner and 2) a constitutional amendment. I think number 1 is more doable.
3
Popular vote pact would be unconstitutional and so would proportional representation as they both would require amendments but increasing the size of the House would not and make all additional seats at large until there is 75% voting in that state. One could double the new seats as at large to contradict incumbency.
2
In Belgium, voting takes place on Sundays, and all Belgians of age are automatically registered to vote (European foreigners, allowed to vote in local elections, need to register, but only once). A peculiarity of Belgium is that voting is compulsory, under penalty of fines (in practice, this is nearly never enforced) You don't have to pick a side, you can vote blank, but you need to actively do it and not just stay home. The logic for this is to preserve voting secrecy. I cannot oblige you to vote for a candidate because I don't know what you will do in the voting boot, but I could compel you to stay home and not vote (something I can check). Not anymore if abstaining has to be done in the voting booth.
21
@Den Barn Australia used to have compulsory voting, but suffered from what was called the "donkey vote", whereby people voted for the names at the top of the ballot paper, and those at the bottom were less likely to win. Is that a Belgian problem?
2
@Peter Hulse Belgium has a complex voting system, where you vote for a party rather for an individual candidate. Once you've selected a party you can specify a preference for one or multiple individual candidates under the party list, which may impact specific allocation of seats to individual candidates, but the order of the list also plays a role. The fact that the order of the list officially plays a role could be called an institutionalised donkey effect (it allows unknown people supported by their party to sometimes get elected, which can be good or bad, depending on the people of course)
2
Weekday voting is one of quite a few things that are anachronistic in the US political system. In NZ we have early voting, but the main polling day is a Saturday. Turn out has been dropping, but is still quite high. Also - the official campaign time is strictly limited, so not a constant bombardment and financing is also policed (sometimes literally), though, again, times are changing and more dubious money and practices are a real possibility. Not a perfect system, but if the same basic principles were followed in the USA, Ms Pelosi (or whoever was the leader of the Democratic Party) would've already been sworn in as the new Prime Minister and government could recommence.
8
What if you could "swipe left" on a representative or a policy at any time? Technology should provoke us to think about entirely new models. Continuous, widely-distributed voting would certainly make for an interesting speculative novel, in any case.
1
@William Garr
Nothing new about this, the idea that representatives are subject to recall at any time has been commonly used in revolutionary movements like the Paris Commune.
2
David,
This is a good column and your idea for increasing participation and making it easier to cast your vote is a good start. I guess I have been involved in too many elections and have observed too many problems to expect that revising our republic's state laws to achieve the noble goals that you have suggested, will probably be very difficult to achieve.
I suggest that the Times, maybe you, should write articles to explore all of the non-democratic provisions in our selection of elected officials for the local, county, Federal district, State, and the method we use to elect Presidents, and the outsize role of money in our elections and in the fairness and exposure of candidates to the voters. (Can you believe that President Trump has still not shared his tax returns? Giving the impression that he is hiding something.
We are getting better but problems like the Citizens United, Winner-Take-All and the way that Congressional Districts are gerrymandered by States.
The Times may want to interview political scientists and historians, past and present of the legislative bodies at the Federal and State level.
Maybe a weekly TV documentary to explore the issues for about to run for about a year would be a means to educate the public on how we elect our government officials.
Clearly, we have a problem, and we should spend resources and time on solving the problem. I am confident that once the problem is recognized and defined we can solve it.
6
What's been going on in Florida is frankly disgusting, what with Gov. Scott, along with America's Great White Dope, accusing the Democrats in Broward County of having committed fraud and even going so far as to implicate Sen. Nelson in their offensive and outlandish charges. The fact that there is absolutely no evidence of such malfeasance hasn't inhibited them in the least. For this reason alone, Scott has no business representing his state in Congress. As for The Donald, what could anyone have reasonably expected?
71
When my dad was elderly and after his knee operation, standing in a long line for voting was hard on him. But he always voted. Now my mom (sharp as ever at 90) has no physical barriers to voting -- she can vote by mail, and she does. Today I was explaining to her what was happening with one of the Congressional races in Maine, and she said, "oh, that's rank choice voting, right?"
Would that we all tried to understand the many options and variations for democratic participation. We all have to try. There are so many good ideas in this article, some of the best found in the comments section, too:
- educate citizens about how ballot measures work (a commenter: "If the NYT can show us how to bake a souffle, it can show us how to enact legislation on our own.")
- all states should adopt universal voting by mail. Gone will be the "closed polling places, reduced voting hours and bureaucratic hurdles." Also the malfunctioning, hackable, unreliable machines. Also the long lines, the inadequate polling places for colleges & in poor neighborhoods, the workday voting dilemma. We could end the discriminatory voter ID laws.
- adopt rank choice voting everywhere, not just in Maine.
-lower the voting age to 16
- continue to explore creative ways to upend the electoral college; if we can't abolish it, at least states could adopt a system of allocating votes to electors proportional to the popular vote, rather than winner takes all.
- Fight gerrymandering and change the system.
15
Glad you mentioned vcte-by-mail. It's been working flawlessly in Oregon since the 80's. It costs less, improves voter turnout, there are no long lines or malfunctioning equipment, or ways for republicans to gum up the works - all big problems in much of the rest of the country. It's been the obvious solution for decades and it's a tragedy that so much time has elapsed while so many States are stuck in the dark ages when it comes to voting and counting the votes.
29
I guess I took the glories of democracy for granted. Bush v Gore and of course the past few years have really made me wake up.
Democracy is a treasure. The one good thing about Trumpism is that it's driven people to the polls.
Good. Now let's make it really work. One person, one vote. Voting by mail, voting early, voting with a paper trail, whatever helps people vote is good. Voter suppression is bad. States that try it should be sued.
We must expand the size of the House to adequately represent the people. Of course the Electoral College must go.
27
Make Election Day a national holiday (like Memorial Day, Independence Day, etc.) That way working people will have the day off to vote. It will also reduce polling place crowding in the hours before and after work. by allowing people to vote anytime during the day.
10
People in D.C. should be able to vote in national elections. There's no good reason to prevent them from doing so. People in Puerto Rico should be able to vote only if they opt for statehood. They have had referenda on the issue in the past & voted against it. Maybe it's time for another opportunity.
10
Following the 2020 elections the regular census will be taken. And after that the reapportionment of the number of seats for each state in Congress will be done. If certain states want to pass measures to either deny or make it difficult to vote, spread the word:
“If they don’t let you vote now, don’t you let them count you in the census later!”
When some states figure out they may lose one or more seats in the House of Representatives, which would be given to another state (like California?), they might see that their actions are counter productive. Not to mention losing Federal money when it is distributed.
9
Badger,
So, make it difficult for some citizens to vote, then that voter should decline being counted in the census? Disenfrachised and disappeared--- brilliant ! Not a good idea.
The Dems need to pass a comprehensive bill protecting equal voting rights. And to do so, they probably need to investigate all the voter suppression tactics adopted by the Republicans. It would make some informative hearings.
10
I’m surprised the author didn’t mention reforming the voting machines themselves. All the other reforms are moot if the vote count can be hacked.
16
@KST Vote-by-mail uses ink pens for voting machines. They can't be hacked.
2
@KST
Senator Ron Wyden Senate Intelligence Committee:
“This election has already put a spotlight on the fact that too many voters are stuck with glitchy, insecure voting machines that are hard to use and easy to hack. There’s a better way: Paper ballots and voting at home give voters the convenience and security they want, including a guaranteed paper trail and never waiting for hours just to exercise your constitutional right to vote,” Wyden said.
2
@KST Many district use paper ballots. Perhapse they all should.
2
16 may be too young to allow driving, except to get to + from school. It is certainly too young to vote.
25
@turbot - Life Hack for that: Go back to teaching civics in high schools.
1
A suggestion:
Make Election Day a national holiday.
And eliminate the grandfather of all potential voter fraud, extended voting and absentee ballots EXCEPT for those physically disabled, required to work too far from polling places or be out-of-town on Election Day.
Make sure those absentee ballots are filed at the last possible minute for insuring on-time arrival!
We ought to make voting a mark of pride - and give voters non-partisan refreshments, requiring something like $1 out of every $1,000 raised go for snacks ranging from crudités to doughnuts & coffee, for those on-line or coming out of the booth, “My Parents Voted” for balloons for kids whose parents teach them early on that voting is not just a civic duty but enjoyable.Bring back bumperstickers.
But Election Day should be Election Day, not Election Month.
An old campaign leader who trusted this retired newspaperman told me the day before a statewide vote that his guy was going to lose - by about 2.5 points - and was right on the money.
“He peaked too soon”, 3 days early according to party tracking polls.
The dynamics of a campaign make early voting easily party-controllable - and also empower able folks too lazy to get out of their livingroom chairs long enough to cast a vote the old-fashioned way.
Somehow, I don’t think they deserve the privilege of a say.
Also, stop calling voters too lazy to help select candidates “Independents”. They’re not - they’re Unaffiliated, too lazy to vote in a primary - shame on them.
4
@Eatoin Shrdlu Voting by mail increases turnout.
10
@Pam So does early voting.
1
@Eatoin Shrdlu
What's this business about "people too lazy to get out of their living room chairs?" Where are these people? Most of the people I know I working their behinds off. Or they're old, or disabled, or children - I guess the one exception would be young folks who aren't lazy at all but who don't understand the value of voting yet.
Don't demean people like that. Voting by mail, early voting, whatever encourages people to vote should be an option.
Mostly, respect the fact that Americans have if anything way too much stress and too little time, too little money, too many obligations. Voting shouldn't require an entire day off way, standing in the rain in some line so a Republican can feel safer.
Their are many fixes that American elections need, but one in particular would make a huge difference, viz, automatic runoff voting, aka ranked-choice voting. If it were adopted nation wide, third parties and independents would not be spoilers. People could vote for them without it leading to a candidate with opposite policies to their preference from benefiting. It works well in various parts of the USA, and has functioned smoothly in Australia for over a 100 years.
27
@Chesson5
Until ranked voting is established, voting for 3rd parties will be a "spoiler" vote, regardless of party. Jill Stein voters most likely are really voting for Trump, but they just don't see that.
3
Some glaring inequities will require a constitutional amendment to change. The Senate gives disproportionate power to small rural states. This was not much of an issue when the urban/rural partisan divide was small. It no longer is. Ideally there would be one branch of Congress elected by a national popular vote.
The electoral college, in addition to allowing the popular vote loser to become president, causes candidates to only concentrate on swing states, not the nation as a whole. It should be abolished.
24
@DBman Candidates concentrate on swing states because of the winner-takes-all convention. If voting in each state were by the alternative vote (ranked-choice voting), they would have more incentive to campaign in states where they were very weak.
The disproportionate influence of small states is no bad thing - it reminds the federal government that it is the creature of the states that founded it, and not vice versa. Governments have a habit of getting ideas above their station, and need bringing to heel from time to time. But perhaps California should choose to break itself up.
3
@Peter Hulse: Thank you! Democrat activists conveniently forget that the U.S. is a federation of states. Constitutional changes that would reduce or eliminate the role of the states, that is, state sovereignty, have no chance of success, it would take only 13 states to block them all. What leftists are really proposing, maybe without even knowing it, is revolution. That could be an important reason why people on the right are so on guard against leftist enthusiasm.
1
As the article indicates, there are short term fixes and then there are the structural improvements that won't happen until we rid ourselves of Trump and the Republicans. Short term, Election Day should be a national holiday. Voting machines should be overhauled, made uniform and have constantly updated security (failing that, use paper ballots). Elections should be monitored, complaints filed and patterns of abuse identified. At the same time, we should be moving forward on legislation to replace the old Voting Rights Act with a simple law that would make it a serious federal crime to interfere or conspire to interfere with the voting rights of any American citizen. Finally, and this won't happen soon, voting should be taken out of the hands of the political parties and placed in the hands of a non-partisan federal agency that would regulate election logistics the way the FDA regulates food quality.
11
@The Dog, "non-partisan federal agency"?? Who would be on it and how would they get there? Who in this country is non-partisan? There are about as many "non-partisans" in this country as there are atheists, and "the people" don't trust either one of them.
I am dubious that there is a pro-democracy movement. The races excited the dems and the turnout was good but the results were so-so. Carrying that forward to the next federal and state elections will be the challenge. I will reserve judgment.
Folks who are not seniors are less likely to turn out. They will say: "I voted but things did not change." If the dems are not careful, what they do over the next 2 years could drive away any enthusiasm this year's races engendered. While the dems are looking to attract more of the right center, they need to attract/keep the left center as well which is where the younger voters are. Perhaps a younger leadership team can be mentored by the leaders of past dem power. Perhaps dems can be more clear about what they stand for and not have folks confused about such as the differences between the ACA and Obamacare.
Things got this way over the long run with the dems complicit in some of it. They should acknowledge that and improve. What David Leonhardt calls a pro-democracy movement is just a lighting of a small flame, one that needs to be nourished and encouraged. It will take a long time to recover our democracy. Voting is necessary but not sufficient.
3
@JohnK ACA (affordable care act) IS Obamacare. Th expanded medicaid part of it is great. What's wrong with it is that taxes are paying insurance companies to give health care to those who can't afford it & people whose incomes are a bit higher than those who qualify for subsidies are paying more than they did before the ACA for less actual health care. What we need is national health insurance for all.
9
The final triumph in making ours a representative democracy would be abolishing the Electoral College. The gimmickry of this antiquated system will keep allowing a majority to be thwarted by a minority, as it did in 2016 and 2000.
16
Just as important: We need to break the two-party system!
Neither party holds positions that fully align with the beliefs/preferences of many (most?) people in this country. Where does a pro-choice fiscal conservative fit in?
Currently, the voters have to compromise their own values; but Congresspeople and Senators don't have to compromise at all!
The two-party system has moved beyond merely dysfunctional; it's now tearing our country apart. (Mostly due to Republicans' obstructionism, greed, and placing partisan power above the needs of the people.)
Having 3-4 parties would force all parties to form coalitions in order to pass legislation; these coalitions could shift depending on each issue at hand.
Sure, multi-party systems come with their own set of problems. But our system is clearly broken; they can't be any worse than what we've got now.
(Of course, it wouldn't be so bad here if the Republicans returned to being reasonable human beings. But I'm not holding my breath for that to happen.)
2
@Paul-A I believe that most Dems are as greedy as most Repubs. They're also as likely to be hawkish & support the military/industrial complex without limit. There is one major difference between the parties, which is that Dems. are likely to be social liberals, (ie) inclusive with respect to race, national origin, religion, gender & gender preference. Repubs., not so much.
Voting by mail is wonderful. We have had it in Washington State for several years. Vote by mail is convenient, lowers costs, is more difficult to hack than electronic voting machines, and it provides an audit trail. It increases participation and reduces barriers to voting for people with busy schedules or disabilities. It prevents low turnout due to inclement weather on election day. Coupled with automatic voter registration, vote by mail can solve the problem of low voter turnout in the United States. Since it lowers costs and is much more convenient, there is no reason that all states should not adopt vote by mail.
71
@MVonKorff
We also have a long history of every voter receiving a comprehensive voter's guide from the state. This is supplemented by detailed county voter guides. Our state guide includes a copy of the entire wording of any initiative or referendum on the ballot, as well as the summaries and statements for and against, with rebuttals.
First the guides, then the ballots, return-postage free this year.
We in Washington are lucky to live in a state where voting is taken seriously.
17
@MVonKorff Yes, but look for the Republican Party to try to gut and destroy the U.S. Postal Service if voting by mail turns into a nationwide trend.
9
I've voted by mail in WA State for many years. There have been no major controversies or claims of fraud. It seems that other states with mail-in voting are quite satisfied with the results. But, I fear, the powers-that-be (conservatives) would reject this nationally because it would mean, in many cases, that they could no longer cheat their way into power.
As with the electoral system, immigration, infrastructure and health care, there are workable solutions, but the cynical truth is that those in power love things just the way they are.
37
It’s actually shocking to me at this stage that so few state have converted to vote-by-mail. Good grief. It ain’t that hard and it works for voters. It’s a proven system now, not some exotic idea. Ballots arrive in the mailboxes of registered voters, we vote at our leisure and send them back no later than Election Day. Ballot counters check the signed ballot envelope against signatures on file. A really great benefit is there’s a PAPER trail. The one downside is the counting process takes time and it can take more than a week to know the outcome of a close race. A small price to pay.
50
@Harry
Isn’t it great that our States can be so different from each other, and do things so differently? If it were up to the majority at any point in time, we would probably never see vote by mail anywhere. But because Oregon and Washington (among a few others) can take their own path on so many topics, other states get to watch and learn the practicalities of vote by mail. And perhaps it will grow!
9
@Wayne it is great. States often show the way, especially lately. On the issue of mail voting, I do think that it is well beyond experimentation to the point where state legislatures that ignore it for the old method are into the realm of malfeasance. They’re hurting citizens.
15
"Any Democrat considering a 2020 run for president should be working on a democracy plan, much as any Democrat running in 2008 had a health care plan."
I fully agree. If people are really incensed that democracy is failing, that's a GOOD thing. Because it is, and to change something, you have to accept it exists.
Tonight I heard more evidence of how Trumpism--a key part of which is making voters doubt the integrity of our institutions--is causing people to lose faith in democracy.
I'm speaking specifically of those who--with zero evidence--are saying liberals are stealing votes, that how could all these "new votes" just surface out of nowhere?
They didn't surface out of nowhere--they're big piles of mailed in absentee and same-day provisional ballots (from voters whose initial registrations were illegally suppressed)--valid ballots that just need to be counted.
No, Rick Scott and Donald Trump: they aren't fabricated, they're real.
As Andrew Gillum said, you can't stop counting just because the numbers suddenly aren't going your way.
124
Voting in Florida can be a 4 to 5 hour process in tough weather. Only because ”they” have shortened voting days and closed polling places. And still have touch screens, with no paper trail. Apparently if you mail a ballot in Florida it may not be counted; I always watched my Orlando ballot go into the machine. Now voting in NC; comparing this easy experience with family in southeast FL, the difference is SAD.
18
Wonderfully great for American democracy -- voters showed up at the polls. Too bad we are governed by a devious oligarchy, that we've lost the concept of checks and balances, and embarked on a national policy of aggressive isolationism. Also too bad about the obsolete electronics -- dragged out of some warehouse every few years -- that are the new voting machines.
8
This column was a breath of fresh air. Voting by mail appears to be the way to go toward leveling the playing field by eliminating many of the pitfalls, bottlenecks, and snafus of the current patchwork of voting processes.
My big hope is that the pro-Democracy trend will encourage more states to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact to insure that the President is elected by popular vote.
The current system causes too much focus to be put on the issues of a few key battleground states while taking the rest for granted. I, for one, am truly tired of the tail wagging the dog all the time.
23
@Ray Barrett
Careful what you wish for.
If the President were elected merely by popular vote the interests of the vast majority would be ignored, and all the attention would go to the awing voters. It’s likely the average swing voter at the national level would be swayed by only a small number of issues, so discourse would become more limited and more calcified.
The state-by-state approach has many advantages, including the way it stirs up new issues as the balance of electoral power shifts among states. And it gives easier entry points for new issues. Want immigration to be more seriously discussed in the Preaidential election? Engage on that topic in Arizona and Utah, where opinion on the topic is flexible and changing. Want more attention on health care? Concentrate on Minnesota, Indiana, Michigan and Kentucky.
By leaving so much power and influence at the state level, our federal system stirs the compost bin of democracy and keeps things healthy and vibrant. Just learn to use it.
4
@Wayne, No Wayne. Today, the country is ruled by the tyranny of the minority. You speak of political power as if it's "geographic." Nothing could be further from the truth. No one is forced to live in ND or KS, so why should the interests of arbitrary state lines have anything to do with the election of our most important political leaders, especially president. The president is supposed to represent everyone, equally. It stands to reason that everyone's vote should count equally.
31
@mrfreeze6
It’s not geographic, but it is cultural. And those cultures give us a variety of starting points to bring issues to the fore and to keep power from becoming calcified.
If state lines were as arbitrary as you claim, voting trends should be roughly the same everywhere. But regional and local cultures are real and do matter. It’s great that Oregon has a better voting system, for example. Democrats should re-learn how to benefit from these differences, for everyone’s gain.
1
Good article with the exception of setting voting age at 16. Driving a car has little correlation with voting that I can see.
How about counting absentee ballots in advance by poll workers sworn to secrecy as they come in?
3
@kwb
Whenever the issue of lowering the voting age to 16 is raised in the pages of the New York Times, I see comments like yours. It's both naive and insulting to assume that 16 year olds are any less capable of exercising the franchise than their parents or grandparents are. I'm 33 and I know a great number of people well into their 30s and 40s who are, to put it charitably, extremely low-information voters; my aunts and uncles, now well into their 60s and brainwashed by decades of Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, are almost wholly untethered from the basic facts of public policy in the United States, yet no one seems to be questioning their right to cast a ballot.
The fact is, teenagers have more skin in the game than most Americans on the issues presently facing our nation's politicians; they deserve a voice in the process. All are captives to an educational bureaucracy that subordinates the students' interests to those of teachers unions, administrators, and religious organizations with a moralistic ax to grind; many are on a path to higher education funded largely by debt; and those who are not already paying taxes will soon join a labor market in which their ability to find work will hinge largely on quality of the secondary eduction they're presently receiving.
Finally, of course, there is the civic consideration: how can we expect these young people to take seriously the civic education they're receiving, while telling them that they're not competent to cast a ballot?
13
@kwb When I first voted, the voting age was 21. I applauded the change from 21 to 18. I don't think 16 year olds should vote, because at that age it's all about your parents & teachers. Do you support them or are you in rebellion against them? In more primitive societies you may be an adult at 16 or even younger. In this society, you're not.
2
We also need to address the imbalance of the ratio of voter to U.S. Representative so that people in the morenpopulous states are fairly represented, rather than under represented as they are now. This would also help to balance the Electoral College.
There is a serious concern about our monitory-majority government and a general lack of fairness that when more people vote for something they lose. More people voted for the other guy for president and lost. More people voted for the other Senators and lost, meaning that recent Supreme Court justices were confirmed by people representing fewer votes than the Senators who voted not to confirm. The same for every issue that passed through Congress the past few years. Republicans simply represent fewer voters, yet have an outsized amount of power to enact laws that go against the will of the majority, and our system of government gives little recourse to the majority,
It can be very disheartening at times.
15
@Karen
Instead of the sysiphean task of restructuring our entire political system (probably requiring a change to the Constitution along the way), it would be much easier for Democrats to win back the relatively small number of rural voters they need to control the Senate and the Electoral College.
Remember that it used to be farmers who supported Democratic policies, while cities tilted rightward. The rural democratic vote was key to many progressive successes. Republicans complained about the disproportion back then. Without that disproportion, lots of good changes would have been stopped by the majority.
There is a lot of wisdom in an approach that hands the megaphone around, temporarily amplifying the voice of minority groups in unpredictabile ways.
3
@Wayne
That does NOT solve the problem of under-representation. The House is limited to 435 seats which is totally arbitrary. Here's a piece about it:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/11/09/opinion/expanded-house-representatives-size.html
It's painfully obvious that some voters are WAY more equal than others - specifically, the same tyrannical rural voters who are destroying our environment, attempting to pack the courts with right wing judges, steal public lands, etc.
There is no way a person in Wyoming should be so much more powerful than a Blue State person. None.
We're all equal, so we should all have an equal voice in government.
2
@Sophia, Regarding the Great Compromise in the Constitution, I agree that the Senate system needs an update, and with it the Electoral College, but the smaller states will never agree to give up their power without compensation. What can we offer them in return?
1
To give the demos, the people, the best chance to preserve the right to vote we must have a constitutional amendment establishing the right to vote. The Republicans, beholden to wealthy corporate elites who want to retain their monopoly on power, will continue to find covert ways to deprive Democrat-leaning people of color of the right to vote. As long as this right remains missing from the explicit black letter of our U.S. Constitution, voting rights will remain a chaotic patchwork of laws that vary from one state to the next, ensuring frustrating and embarrassing delays in obtaining national election results and inviting vote fraud. Voting rights activists must continue the fight to enshrine the right to vote on two fronts. Since a constitutional amendment would take some time, they must push the incoming Congress for a comprehensive Voting Rights Act early next year. The Democratic majority in the new House of Representatives should make the drafting and introducing of a Voting Rights Act a priority early next year. Even if the activism fails, it will let the Republican Party and its wealthy boosters know that we common Americans take the voting franchise seriously, will not tolerate the suppression of our right to vote, and will continue to fight to preserve it.
8
The Democrats controlled the House of Representatives for 40 consecutive years, and I never heard one of them complain about gerrymandering, or how the Senate is chosen, or the Electoral College the whole time they were in power.
8
Did you ever hear of Democrats working as hard as they could to make it as difficult as possible for American citizens to exercise their right to vote? Did you ever hear of Democrats purging voter registrations before an election? Did you hear of Democrats doing everything they could to stop the counting of votes after the polls had closed? No. That’s because it Democrats support the right to vote as an essential cornerstone of Democracy. It happens with Republicans. Do you ever wonder why?
236
@Charlie Reidy
Good point. Back then the representatives seemed to represent people, not acreage. No need to complain.
Not so any more. Time to fix it.
15
@David grad
Well, expanding suffrage is a relatively new ideal for Democrats; they have slowly given it attention in the past four decades after a century of opposition.
The truth is that both parties have resisted voting rights when they felt threatened. Their perception of the threat has changed over time, and it will change again.
2
In Australia we vote on a Saturday, which is much easier than a Tuesday. Registering to vote is also relatively straightforward. And we have an independent electoral commission which is in charge of organising and conducting elections (setting seat boundaries, maintaining the electoral roll etc.), thus taking political partisanship out of the equation.
It is also compulsory to lodge a paper vote (no machines as yet) in person on the day (or earlier at designated polling places), or by mail, although whether you actually mark the ballot paper is up to you. There are certainly criticisms of our preferential voting system, but we don’t face anything like the same problems as America with regard to such issues as gerrymandering, voter suppression, or access to polling places.
40
@David
Thank you for your comment. We in Oregon vote by mail in a system that is safe, quick and designed intelligently.
One can also drop off ballots at a designated (safe) voting place if that is their choice or need.
We don't need to use a computerized or vote online system in our elections! As a person who knows how easy to hack any computer (Masters of Library and Information Science) why mess around with computers when a simple,
well-designed system that guarantees safety and quick tallying has already been proven? It's working well in other states as well! (and has a tracking system)
Also, believe it or not, scads of people are still not comfortable navigating computer technology and many people cannot get to polls because of many types of disabilities.
22
@GreenSpirit
That sounds like a good system. It's odd that there is so much variation between states, with some clearly more reliable and efficient than others. And you're right about the potential vulnerability of online voting, especially with concerns about Russian interference.
11
All the states need to adopt Colorado's voting system. All registered voters receive a ballot in the mail. You can fill it out at your leisure, researching what you need to. You can drop the ballot off at your convenience, no lines. There is a physical paper ballot for audits and recounts. If we all voted this way, it would make voting much easier.
104
@catlover
If banks can successfully tally all the transactions that they do, then one transaction AKA a vote shouldn't be as troublesome as it is being made.
24
@Butterfly
If electoral commissions maintained a full-time staff and spent millions of dollars a year on their computer systems, and if they tested them every single day, and if the commissioners and the voters stood to lose money if any errors appeared, and if the entire system were regularly audited, and if failed commissions were taken over by the Federal Government and then sold to other commissions, then yes, online voting would probably be about as safe as online banking.
In other words, if elections had all the infrastructure that banks use, computerized voting might work. Until then let’s stick with paper ballots.
20
Here in Oregon we vote by mail. My ballot arrives two weeks before the election. I fill it out that day and put it in the ballot box next to the county library. Done.
I often wonder why the rest of America has such a hard time participating in elections. Maybe it's become too complicated. Do you ever wonder why? It's for the same reason that pickpockets like crowds. And for the same reason that Big Pharma likes the confusion of modern health care.
82
@caveman007
Do you not wonder what happens to the ballots placed in the box at the library?
How can you be absolutely sure they cannot be tampered with?
The only foolproof system is paper ballots cast on election day and then counted in the polling place immediately the polls close under strict supervision and with party scrutineers looking on.
7
@caveman007
Thanks Caveman! I put Senator Wyden's message inviting all to consider this common sense voting system into place.
I imagine he's tired of telling his colleagues the same. Plus he's on the Senate Intelligence Committee and cares about privacy as well as getting out the vote to all.
And it's important to note, this system does not take a longer time to tally votes--because it's designed properly, and with safeguards!
2
@James Rennie. The ballots can be picked up and monitored the same way. There is no bar to that.
And they can be counted as they come in, reducing the madness of single-day counts.
Mail-in ballots are the best.
2
Democracy is indeed the winning issue. So what we need is legislation to fund the polls, the machinery, train the volunteers, make the process of volunteering at polls simple and well-known. I'm stating a list of measures I want to see. Asking others to add to it.
We need all the following:
Automatic registration at eighteen
Election Day as a Holiday
Secretaries of State who run for office must resign their position as soon as they announce for office.
Establish a maximum number of voters per voting apparatus- machine or carrel.
Voters receive a physical receipt or ballot stub after voting—as we do when we visit an ATM machine or buy gas.
Eliminate electronic voting machines—those without receipts to be phased out.
Candidates for office cannot own shares in voting machine industries, as Senator Chuck Hagel did.
Reinstatement of those who served time for felonies after they serve their time and successfully complete parole. Currently Rick Scott of Florida denies virtually all petitions from ex felons.
Combat Gerrymandering
Accept student IDs
I’m also curious about whether, under Republican governors and secs of state, whether election budgets are cut, and hardware is allowed to become outdated, hidden, allowed to get old and break down.
230
@Naples Also, phase out the Electoral College, or bypass it by having a majority of individual state legislatures pass laws requiring proportional electoral votes instead of “winner takes all” assignment of electoral votes.
45
@Sharon
And what would you do once the popular vote calcified against Democrats, as it would eventually do? I suspect the majority would be unlikely to agree to re-institute the electoral college.
The electoral college system is a vital tool for change in our federated system. Without it we could easily see the end of split government and the checks and balances and relative dynamism that it gives to our system.
One potentially viable alternative to the electoral college system might be to move to a parliamentary system like Britain’s. That approach does allow for rapid changes when the situation calls for it. But that is an enormous re-do, and there’s good reason to think it would not work in the US anyway.
So given our Presidential + Congressional system, we gain a lot from the way the electoral college shifts power around among different interests.
Sometimes the majorities in the most influential states line up with the views of the national majority at that moment, and sometimes they don’t. When they don’t, we get a chance to pay attention to and debate issues that the national majority would otherwise ignore or suppress.
That shifting of attention is really, really good for democracy!
4
@Wayne The biggest problem with the electoral college is that a state's votes do not reflect the number of people who actually vote. That state gets the same votes whether they have 5% turnout or 95% turnout, hence the big political incentive to minimize turnout and push voter suppression. So keep the electoral college and give each state a proportion of it's electoral college votes that reflects how many of its population actually voted
8
How about advocating for making every Election Day a national holiday. It is often difficult for those who work to get to the polls. Many are just too tired to fight the long lines after work. Where I voted there were booths for picking up voter materials that were especially crowded and others totally empty. Some of the machines in Manhattan broke which made for especially long waiting times to file your ballots. This could easily discourage some people from voting and every vote counts. Maybe the liberals and progressives could work on some of these issues to relieve the stress some of us have experienced.
32
@WPLMMT
One party wants every American to vote and the Republic Party wants to suppress every Minority Americans vote.
2
@WPLMMT. Not needed for mail-in ballots!
1
Civics - that really boring course where we learned the outline of the federal government, the difference between federal and state govements, that we could be called for jury duty, the boys needed and still to register for the draft - needs to be a required course. Back in the day, in New York, everyone who went to academic and trade high schools had to take it and, pass in order to graduate. We might have been bored in hgih school but when we needed that knowledge a few years later we had it
95
@JFF
In my state of Illinois, the course wasn't called civics, it was called "government." I remember a question that asked the length of term for a U.S. Senator. I properly answered "6" but the instructor thought my "6" looked like a "10." I approached him and objected and he corrected my score. I started voting when I attained the required age (21 then) and have voted in every election since, sometimes by absentee ballot when I was in the Navy.
7
@JFF plus, a requirement that all presidential candidates pass the citizenship test that all new citizens must pass AND pass a law that ALL party nominees for president must disclose at least 20 years of annual federal income tax returns.
8
Yes, but to reinstate Civics courses, we first need to undo GOP voter suppression so we can vote in the party that is actually willing to prioritize education spending in our budgets.
2
Thanks for the encouraging spin, but I feel discouraged that you didn't mention the biggest and most urgent obstacle facing democracy: corruption. Until the political and legislative processes are taken off the auction block, we may be able to vote, but it will still be the 0.01% offering us our choices, and telling our elected officials what they're allowed to do.
25
Voting is not that hard. It can be inconvenient, but so are lots of things. A good percentage of people would seem to have little interest in voting regardless of the effort involved. Maybe some more attractive choices on the ballot would spur more interest. Most of the incumbents on my ballot were unopposed and have been since I can remember. Proposed additional "restrictions", such as showing an ID, are hardly extreme. More early voting, greater capacity, and expanded hours would be nice. Around here, how quickly you are in and out is very neighborhood dependent. I was in and out in less than 15 minutes and I live in a, comparatively, low rent part of my city (so you can shelve the privileged rejoinders). This is largely a quirk of the block I live on. Same voting location, other people had a good 30 to 45 min wait. It's always this way. Morning, mid-day, or evening.
3
@Daphne, you write from a position of privilege. If your job keeps you busy until you have to rush home to take care of the children, and your employer fires you if you miss part of a day's work, voting is not "not that hard".
93
Why not mail in your ballot, or go for the early vote?
1
@Thomas Zaslavsky
Hardly. But you'll believe what you want so go right ahead.
A POTUS like Trump stimulates
The impulses that he so hates,
So vulgar, so vile
So gauche all the while
Without relief he irritates.
A pleasure to wait in the rain
Not to hear lies again and again,
From not even third rate
A near decerebrate
The Midterm vote wasn't in vain!
45
Amen! And there is a long list of necessary reforms, even going beyond those mentioned by Mr. Leonhardt. For example, in my state there is still no early voting. Why not? We had to rely on the state Supreme Court to fix our gerrymandered congressional districts. Why don’t we have a nonpartisan commission to do this? And so on. Progressive Democrats could certainly make this a key part of their program in 2020.
127
@J Johnson: And in my state, the same as the New York Times's state. I and the Times are not pleased. See
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/opinion/new-york-primary-election-go-vote.html
6
@J Johnson I vote PA doesn't waste money on new machines for 2020; we should just go to a mail-in ballot. We don't have to reinvent the wheel. There are a couple of different systems currently being used.. Oregon has a great one.
24
There is power here and it is coming from one place, the ballot initiative. We have this right in Missouri and probably (hopefully?) most other states. This is where the citizenry circulates a petition and gets enough signatures to place legislation on the ballot. In super red state Missouri, we just legalized medical marijuana, raised the minimum wage and enacted measures to redistrict the state in a non-partisan fashion. There is no way any of these measures would have gotten through ultra conservative state legislature.
I'll tell you what else this does. It bypasses the paid off politicians. The vote goes directly to the people. So! Here is what we should do.
People need to be educated about this process. I would like to see this paper lead the way and produce articles about how to get a ballot initiative accomplished. Show the public the power they have and how to use it. Investigate the various state requirements. If the NYT can show us how to bake a souffle, it can show us how to enact legislation on our own.
Instead of feeding the bottomless pit of political contributions, we should set up go fund me type websites to fund these initiatives. Put our money where it will generate real results, not buy these horrible campaign ads.
We can use this process to shift voting away from polling places and into our hands. This will cut off voter suppression at the knees.
We can take our country back if we do it ourselves.
385
@Bruce Rozenblit, I'm afraid most states, such as my supposedly liberal one, don't have the voter initiative.
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We need a voter initiative for early voting. Missouri voters want it but I’ve heard that Missouri doesn’t have early voting because of what it would cost. Early voting states aren’t going broke because of it. The (now defeated) county clerk in Boone County was actually threatening to prosecute anyone who falsely claimed one of the few acceptable reasons for obtaining an absentee ballot. He was Republican. It’s not about money. It’s about control over who gets to vote, and fear by ruling politicians in the state of majority rule.
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@Bruce Rozenblit. What I love is that this comment encourages focusing on policy over politics. Policy is intended to unite and empower us; politics is intended to divide us and empower the establishment.
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Linked with health care, this will be the issue that makes 2020 the decisive election 2018 should have been. We must all pray (or whatever we do if we do not pray) that the opposition to the GOP can form a single entity that gives the nation the new start it has need since the disastrous election of 1980.
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@Ruskin
This election was decisive in many states.Two examples: In Wisconsin, top state officials are now all Democratic, including the new governor who will help reshape gerrymandered districts in 2020. Here in Colorado, a blue wave created a complete Democratic takeover of state government, and we established a neutral commission to create legislative districts in the future.
Rather than pray, what has made the difference is organizing, connecting with voters, and helping them get to the polls. These activities will continue, thanks to the momentum and energy generated by this election. We are on our way to a more representative democracy! Democrats for democracy should be the new slogan.
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@jeito
I agree absolutely. ORGANIZE has always been the thing to do. Check this out, please:
https://www.newyorker.com/search/q/Gopnik%20Attlee
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This the perfect thing for Democrats to own and run on in every single election at state, local, and federal levels. They need a catchy name for a 10 point pro voting/pro democracy plan that all Democrats can sign on to and they need unified messaging so this is mentioned at every single interview. When people ask “what do Democrats stand for,” this catch phrase should be automatic to everyone in the US.
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Vote for democracy, vote democratic
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@Edward Bosch
Good idea but if you haunt the conservative interwebs, their response will be "But we are a Republic, not a Democracy". Inside ball that conservatives understand that doesn't change anything, but it's an easy way for conservative voters to dismiss the effort.
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