Re:512 Paths to the White House
by caf on Saturday November 03, 2012 @07:03AM
(#4736375)
The two most important electoral reforms that the US could adopt would be to switch voting to Saturday, so that most people don't have to take time off work to vote; and to put the administration of federal elections in the hands of an independent, professional, non-partisan electoral commission.
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>>>and to put the administration of federal elections in the hands of an independent, professional, non-partisan electoral commission.
Even if you have a federal electoral commission, the "foot soldiers" who will be working in the election booths will be the same people who is doing it now. (Based on what I know about the system in India, there it a election commission, who provides the administration and drafts Central/State government employees to carry out the elections). I agree that the net effect of such a measure will be positive, if there is more uniformity in the voting rules.
Switching to Saturday would get the US in trouble with many religions in the US that would absolutely forbid voting on a Saturday. A weekday is much safer.
Having election day be a federal holiday wouldn't hurt.
Why doesn't that happen now? Friday is the Muslim holy day?
Tuesday tends to me no major religion's holy day, and the country was Judeo-Christian at its founding.
Unrestricted mail in voting would solve these problems. WA and OR mail in, no problem.