I voted today via an oversized PDA with a large red button that read: CAST VOTE.
Gone are the salad days of punching through a stack of cards that were provided neatly tucked into ballot jacket.
Instead I waited for a man to punch my registration number into a machine that resembled something used by gas station attendants to monitor the flow of fuel. The Gas-O-Matic chirped and spit out a tiny receipt with a PIN number required to turn on the electronic voting device.
Even the voting booth has been changed, now looking like something designed by Rubermaid and REI. Tucked inside was a device about the size of a tablet PC with large buttons and a jog dial.
The display was similar looking to that of an ATM. So my first instinct was to enter the secret number by touching the screen but nothing happened. After a few more taps I discovered this modern device was not very modern at all — more like 1995'ish. Next and back buttons be damned.
Despite lacking any revolutionary voting features, I was able to cast by ballot without a hitch. Click the read button and bam — finished in record time.
Now if only something could be done about the rampant voter apathy in this country. Tonight the news is reporting that only 5% of registered voters in Orange County participated in today's election.
We can make voting as 'modern' as it gets but it still won't fix the biggest problem with elections in this country.
Join the fray by reading through and commenting at the end.
Is that because 95% of Orange County is Republican? Five percent is pretty shocking — you'd have thought all those Recall goofballs would have gotten out there to make sure Ahnold's initiatives got passed.
Everytime there's a vote, I have prod certain memebers of my family to vote. My attempt is frustrating at best. I would have better luck find WMDs in Iraq!
Greg, I too tapped on the screen and was disappointed nothing happened. Stupid jog dial.
If we want to encourage people to vote, we need to make it seem like our votes matter. I plan to vote in my state's primary even though all of the candidates who I like and have supported have already dropped out of the race, but I am in the minority. What incentive is there for anyone who doesn't think that John Kerry is the best candidate to even bother? Sure you could argue about sending delagates for other candidates to the convention to influence the platform, but that does that mean anything to the average voter? Of course not. Our current primary system only reinforces the notion that your vote doesn't matter.
No matter how easy we make the voting process, it doesn't change the fact that we are inevitably left with a choice between the most mediocre, watered down candidates possible. People with real ideas are left behind long before the majority of Americans ever get to the polls, and this isn't just an issue this year or with the Democratic party - George Bush's entire 2000 campaign - both in the primaries and the general election essentially consisted of him saying "I'd ask smart people for their opinion and then do what's best for America" in response to every question. That's not a platform. That's appealing to the lowest common denominator by ensuring that no one can disagree.
If we want real candidates, we need to completely reform the election process, starting with national primaries to ensure that it's not simply the richest candidate who wins the party nomination. Then, we need to eliminate the polling requirements for debate participation - how can you be expected to reach 15% in polls when nobody knows what you stand for? Every candidate on the ballot should be allowed to participate in the debates. On top of this, we need REAL campaign finance reform. Unfortunately, I don't think any of this will ever happen, because the people who we must rely on to change our broken system are those who have best taken advantage of that system to get to their current position.
Sorry for the rant, but it's a slow day at work, and I've been kind of obsessed with this for months now.
The vote is not the sickness. The system is what needs change, and voting is no longer the answer.
There were enough Republican's seeking office that I can't imagine anyone would consider this a Democrat's only decision. I think Orange County's apathy has more to do with people here caring more about dog grooming and Hummer buying than voting.
Stupid Orange County.
When the representatives don't represent, voters become apathetic.
Term limits are a good thing. Career politicians are not. That's MTC.
A dimwitted male freshman on campus today was spotted wearing a t-shirt reading: "Voting is for old people." Yeah, unfortunately stupidity is for young people. Pretty embarrassing site. Schmuck.
Don't worry. That freshman doesn't actually think voting is for old people - he just bought the shirt because Urban Outfitters told him too. I'm sure he hasn't even thought about what it means.
Or it could all be part of the Conservative conspiracy - predictable, eh?
ummmmm......... so we don't vote because the two parties are far too similar - correct?
so we need to get more parties/ideas involved?
so........ why not some Instant Runoff Voting?
it only make sense to be able to vote with priorities and not go for the bullseye everytime.
democrats bitch about nader but they'd never risk changing the voting system to something that might lose them power, but would in fact increase the power of the left if they could end up losing power themselves.
Something like the Condorcet method would remove the "wasting your vote" objection to third parties. I disagree with Charles Stuart however - more power in third party hands would deal a death blow to the left, as the prime beneficiary would not be an increasingly ridiculous Nader but the Libertarians (position polls indicate some 25% of Americans agree with the libertarian platform, more than any other party including the big two).
What does this post have to do with Kucinich, I wonder?
At least the Libertarians believe in personal freedoms. Straight capitalists aside they seem like a good group to me.
Personally I'm looking for an honest system, not my system. I wasn't trying to advocate the system that would solely advocate my personal positions, although I can see how it would have appeared as such.