2005 flashback - Election Task Force: waste of time, effort and money.

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The election task force was a total and complete waste of time and money.

I attended the inaugural episode of this worthless soap opera in Vancouver. The moment Secretary of State Sam Reed started talking, he got that “deer-caught-in-the-headlights” look that he’s famous for… and my first thought was: “This is a total waste of time and money.”

Unfortunately, the early reports have proven me right.

At the end of the day, it was never realistic to expect that a Party that was aided by irregularities… Aided by felons voting illegally… aided by non-Americans voting illegally… Aided by fraud… Aided by massive registration to bogus addresses… Aided by violations of election laws and regulations… Would, in fact, want to actually do anything to correct the system that put them into power.

The number one issue MUST be insuring that when a vote is cast, it’s cast by someone legally eligible to vote.

First and foremost, this means requiring proof of citizenship to vote in this state.

That means that each and every one us, the voters here in Washington, must provide proof of citizenship to register to vote. That means that motor voter requirements, (an abhorrent system from the start) MUST include proof of citizenship.

Secondly, elimination of convicted felons from the voter roles that haven’t bothered to go through the process to regain their voting rights.

Third: There MUST be a single standard, unambiguous, as to the processing, counting, contesting and reviewing ballots.

Fourth: The Secretary of State should be the single authority on enforcement of voter law.

The task force will do none of these things, of course. But then… no one in their right mind ever expected they would. After all, the democrats would no more allow meaningful reorganization of election law then they would reorganization of property tax law.

Thursday, March 3, 2005

Task force urges earlier primary
It also calls for photo IDs to vote and improved registration records

By LEWIS KAMB
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Primary elections should happen earlier. Voters should bring photo IDs to the polls. And registration records should be audited across Washington.

These ideas are among a host of recommendations that a state elections reform task force will detail today -- ideas that essentially complete the appointed panel's charge of finding potential solutions to problems revealed during Washington's close and controversial governor's race.

The panel's recommendations -- to be issued in a final report at separate news conferences in Olympia and Spokane -- break no real new ground. The proposed changes are ones that have been mulled over and kicked around in some form or another during the past several months, even years. Many are even proposed in bills now before the Legislature.

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