Back to Basics

Browsing around the 'net this morning, I ran across some disgruntled Pennsylvania citizens who are extremely upset about their new electronic voting machines.

The way I understand it, these electronic marvels of the New Millenium can be invaded, perused and manipulated from a parking lot near the polling site by any laptop geek.

This is much more evil than a pregnant chad.

Since I have been reading about pre-Civil War elections in the United States (in which people like John Marshall and John Quincy Adams were elected to congress) this subversive activity via wireless technology knocked me for a loop.

I can remember in my youth, during the Dirty Thirties, my grandfather was always extolling the virtues of the "new Austrralian Secret Ballot".

It was, truly, a revolutionary idea then.

Up until the conclusion of the American Civil War, all
elections were heldin the open, with no secrets.

The contestants stood by at a long table where the qualified voters were accomodated, passed on, and then each voter declared his choice in front of the several hundred attendant voters and officials.

The tally was kept incrementally and when the last qualified voter got his lick in, everyone knew the winner.

Of course, they openly quaffed the ale and spirits all day...never mind WHOSE ale and spirits !

So, I say: 'What's the Big Durn Hurry ??'

Down with punch machines, electronic tallies, wireless schemes and abacus-like processes.

Let's let everyone just write down the name of their favorite candidate---just scrawl it however illegibly---and then count the paper ballots.

It can't be as bad as the hanging chads that Algore claimed beat him in 2000.

It would be impregnable to the crooked geeks who invade the electronic machines with slave sattelite aid.

And, to the great delight oif many of us, the old, long drawn out methhod of tallying paper ballots would drive the Mainstream Media absolutely Bonkers!!!

Of course, what we really need is an electorate totally dedicated and responsible...a population of electors unashamed and fearless in their decisions.

It would be rally nice to have THAT first.