This year’s U.S. Senate Republican primary in Mississippi is still filling the media. Even though the GOP declared a winner, a challenge continues. Given the turmoil, the Clarion-Ledger, Mississippi’s leading newspaper, has come out endorsing the need for election reform (verbatim below).
The call for election reform continues to grow. As I mentioned on Twitter Friday, August 8th, the New Mexico legislature is poised to act next year. As highlighted elsewhere on this blog, activity and calls for election reform are coming from media and leading politicians.
Nevada can lead the nation by enacting the most inclusive voting system in the nation. The time for the Nevada Election Modernization and Reform Act is NOW.
Time to reform state’s election process
The Clarion-Ledger, The Clarion-Ledger11:15 p.m. CDT June 28, 2014
If the aftermath of the Republican primary for U.S. Senate has shown us anything, it is that it is past time for the Legislature to pass meaningful — and even sweeping — election reforms.
If the aftermath of the Republican primary for U.S. Senate has shown us anything, it is that it is past time for the Legislature to pass meaningful — and even sweeping — election reforms.
The first thing that needs to be addressed is the state statute that seeks to provide political parties the right to enforce party loyalty among voters. Given the landscape and political realities of local elected offices in Mississippi, such a law is all but enforceable. Many solutions exist, but the two most obvious are either to create a system of party registration or to do away with the current statute.
A second area of reform should be in absentee voting. What is designed to be a means for people who will not be able physically to vote on election day has been abused by candidates as a way to legally stuff ballot boxes and as a hacked-together early voting system. If lawmakers would adopt an early voting procedure, then they could easily overhaul absentee voting laws without running the risk of disenfranchising people.
Our runoff system is another area where lawmakers should turn their attention. The current system once made sense, but the technology of today provides us with the opportunity to forgo a two-round runoff system. Lawmakers should take a look at instant-runoff voting.
Several variations of IRV exist, but the gist of the system is that voters rank candidates in order of preference. If no one wins on the first balloting, then the votes are recounted using the second choice of voters whose first choice did not make the “runoff.” IRV saves money and time, but there are understandable hesitations. Nevertheless, it is a system that is gaining popularity, and lawmakers should begin to look at it.
Investing in technology could also save time, money and heartburn in election challenges.
Instead of having to rely on different books for different primaries, all voting records for a precinct would be in one database. Not only would it make it easier for poll workers to ensure proper record-keeping for each balloting, it would automate the process of ensuring someone voting in one party primary was not allowed to vote in another party’s primary runoff.
Finally, the most important election reform that lawmakers can undertake next year is to change the way primaries are conducted. That responsibility currently falls to political parties, which — as we can see in this election — still leads to conflicts of interest and too many variations in the manner in which the elections are conducted. Like general elections, party primaries should be conducted by counties and the state. While parties should still have some sort of active involvement, they should not be in sole charge.
Our electoral process should be one of the most important aspects of our democracy.
Lawmakers, starting with Senate Elections Committee Chairman Chris McDaniel, should spend a lot of time next year making sure it is a model system for the nation and that Mississippi voters can easily and efficiently cast their ballots with faith in the integrity of our elections.