Ross: The big fix for voter fraud in America
Nov 19, 2018, 6:21 AM | Updated: 7:55 am
A Republican observer looks at a ballot during a hand recount at the Broward County Supervisor of Elections office in Lauderhill, Fla. On Nov. 16, 2018. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
(AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
The Florida recount is over, but not before we were all subjected to another round of voter fraud accusations. That there was no evidence of fraud doesn’t matter, because there were plenty of these accusations, proven or not, and pretty soon people don’t trust elections anymore.
Modern democracies aren’t perfect, but they should at least be able to count.
So states where fraud has been alleged, whether justified or not, need to take steps so that by 2020 everyone is satisfied the process is fair.
This shouldn’t be that hard. Remember the first elections in Iraq in 2005? People voted and then dipped their finger in purple ink. Why not try that?
That way no one can vote twice, and any non-citizen caught with a purple finger would be risking deportation, which would be a pretty effective deterrent.
But if that’s too messy – then do it all by mail, the way Washington, Oregon, and Colorado do.
The only question then is: What happens when the signature on the envelope doesn’t match? Well, you give the states an incentive: if they reject your signature and it turns out you were qualified to vote, under the rule of no taxation without representation, you would pay zero tax until the next election. No property, sales, income tax, no tab fees. Zero. Problem solved.
Except maybe for everyone deliberately changing their signature. But I’ll work on that.
RELATED: Now that the election is over, let’s all just chill out
RELATED: An important question about American health care
-
Tune in to KIRO Newsradio weekdays at 5am for Dave Ross on Seattle's Morning News.
