While the right to vote is assured in our country, it's not common to every country in the world. We too often take for granted this blessing of liberty and ignore our opportunities to impact our communities, states, and country.

Creative novels delight the reader with tales of voter manipulation through electronic voting machines and political intrigue, but that fiction "can" come true today if we don't safeguard our treasured right to vote.

Each year a larger percentage of votes are cast across our nation with electronic voting machines. While we are assured that these methods are safe, our daily lives, now intertwined fully with computers, tells us that no electronic device is 100% safe or tamper-proof. Of all the responsibilities of business, government, and life that we transfer to the computer and other electronic devices, can't we agree that the counting of votes should not be included? Doesn't the interest in and the ability to corrupt election results become an increasing possibility as the precentage of votes cast by electronic means increases?

We should not trust such systems with this important role in democracy for the sake of speed, convenience, cost, or any other reasons. The cross-verification method used by poll workers for over 200 years is still the safest, most democratic, and best way to insure that democracy is well served. Let's not allow our "fast food and fast answers" culture to prevail in our voting process, too.

We should also adopt nationally some of the proposals suggested recently for reducing voter fraud by instituting a voter picture ID requirement and not allowing such a high percentage of people to vote absentee. Proof of a physical or job related inability to vote in person should be required "and" confirmed before a vote is finalized. A maximum of 20% of the population of a state should be allowed to vote absentee and that percentage should be much lower. To make the voting process easier and more a part of our national fabric of life for more people, federal general elections should be held on the first weekend of November.

These steps to reduce voting fraud and to safeguard voting can easily be made and will eliminate the new voting fraud possibilities now inherent in the system. The method and security of voting should permanently be added to our Constitution. A few suggestions below.

Upon passage of an amendment to the Constitution plus a minimum of one year, federal general elections shall take place on the first Saturday and Sunday in November.

No state, except at times of explicit declaration of war in effect by the same Congress for more than 2 months, shall allow more than 20% of registered voters to vote by absentee in any election that includes a federal position. No state shall allow electronic voting machines to represent more than 5% of the total voting volume generated in any election that includes a federal position.

Any state, except at times of explicit declaration of war by Congress, producing a voter turn-out of less than 60% of registered voters for any November general election that includes a federal position, shall lose 25% of its current federal fiscal year designated federal highway funds. Any state producing a voter turn-out of more than 75% of registered voters for any November general election that includes a federal position, shall equally divide with other qualified states all federal highway funds forfeited by states not meeting minimum voter turn-out. All new federal highway funds acquired by a state in this manner shall be used exclusively for highway projects.


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