Dear Mr. President Elect

Christopher T. Gates

In the wake of the bitterest electoral dispute in more than a century, you and others have called for a period of healing and reconciliation. I would like to make a suggestion on how to accomplish this. Instead of seeking a $1.3 trillion dollar tax cut, why not push for the creation of a "21st Century Fund for Democracy" to assist local election offices in upgrading their voting systems? The fund could be a joint effort between, federal, state and local government. It could involve non-profits, foundations and private industry -- particularly technology companies -- in a public/private partnership. Such a generous plan would not only help heal the wounds of the past; it would help prevent similar problems from occurring in the future.

Whatever one thinks of the recent controversy over chads and dimples, no one can be satisfied with what happened in Florida. Thousands of votes were rejected because of the failure of punch cards to register the intent of voters. At a time when most Americans can shop, bank, make airline reservations and invest on-line, it seems odd that such antiquated technology should be used in our most sacred rite of citizenship, the act of voting. The technology for touch screen machines and Internet voting is readily available. The main obstacle to using these more reliable systems is funding.

The reported disparities between affluent suburban counties with up-to-date voting machines and low-income counties with older and more error-prone machines raise basic questions of fairness. There were also reports of inadequate staffing and resources, especially in certain African-American precincts where higher than average turnouts led to confusion and long lines. Newspaper reports suggested that precinct workers were unable to contact county offices to check voter rolls because their phone systems were overwhelmed by incoming calls. It is a sad commentary on our democracy when increased participation results in a general systems failure.

In the aftermath of this election, there have been many calls for political reform. Some voices are calling for "nationalizing" our voting procedures. A recent poll in the Washington Post found that a majority of Americans want to "strip authority for setting election rules from local and state officials." This would be a major departure from our long history of local control in election procedures. Why not assist local election offices in efforts to upgrading their chosen systems? Creating voluntary guidelines and standards could be part of this effort. Design experts and academics could be consulted to suggest ways of avoiding voter confusion, which could prevent innocent and avoidable errors like the confusing "butterfly" ballots in Palm Beach County. We should also look at ways of increasing the voter turnout through mail-in ballots, 24-hour polling places, weekend voting or perhaps a national Election Day holiday

As many advocates of reform have suggested this election should be viewed as a wake-up call. The very narrowness of the margin in this election uncovered hidden flaws in the system. Although there was little or no evidence of intentional fraud, Florida's voting systems were rife with innocent error. Overseas ballots lacked postal marks, poorly designed ballots confused the voters, and disagreements over standards for hand recounts thwarted good faith attempts to find a fair and accurate way of recounting the votes. These are problems that can be found in states and counties all over America.

Many these problems could be cleared up through systems upgrades, improved voter education, better training for poll workers and legislative action. A 21st Century Fund for Democracy could heal old wounds and renew our faith in the democratic process. Although we may not see another election as close as this one in another 100 years, we owe it to ourselves to address problems that we can foresee. We must ensure that every citizen, no matter how poor or inexperienced enjoys the most important of all democratic privileges, the right to vote and have that vote count for something.

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