Editorial: Voter ID doesn't get to real election problems

Albuquerque Tribune  February 19, 2005

One person, one vote has become the bedrock foundation of American democracy, ensuring every legal citizen's vote matters, is accurately counted and thereby influences elected officials to reflect the intent of the majority of the electorate.

But problems during the last two presidential elections - not to mention local elections in Bernalillo County - suggest our national, state and local election systems might not be living up to this standard.

Officials in Santa Fe, including Gov. Bill Richardson, seem obsessed lately with requiring voter identification on Election Day, reportedly to minimize vote fraud. But many citizens are more concerned with whether their votes actually are being counted.

Requiring voter ID, while not a bad idea, seems to be a solution looking for a problem.

There is very little, if any, credible evidence of fraudulent voting - nothing that even comes close to suggesting election results are being compromised by a swarm of fraudulent ballots.

There is, however, plenty of concern about whether:

Voting machine results accurately report the vote.

Voting and counting rules are applied equitably.

Citizens are being denied the right to cast their ballots in a timely and unfettered manner.

Provisional ballots are being properly counted.

Ballot formats are confusing voters and providing an avenue for voter errors.

The rising use of absentee ballots provides fertile ground for manipulating results.

If requiring some form of easily acquired and free voter identification puts this issue to rest, by all means let's get on with it.

But, please, do not let that be the lone solution to what's really ailing our electoral system and to what has many citizens wondering whether political officials or their corporate friends - who manufacture and program voting machines - have rigged the results.

Voters never should have such concerns. New Mexicans and other Americans are entitled to be absolutely confident the results reported accurately reflect the voters' votes.

Congress and the New Mexico Legislature must adopt and implement reforms that: provide a transparent election and voting machine infrastructure; ensure the votes cast actually reflect the will of the people; that the votes can be easily tabulated and accurately reported within hours of the polls closing; and guarantee the results will be consistent on election night, the day after and throughout any canvass or call for a recount. The results must be verifiable through a paper trail that records each vote and that is consistent with the total number of votes cast - whether by computer, machine or paper ballot.

New Mexicans and other Americans are entitled to know unequivocally that the will of the people has not been compromised by anyone for any reason. That is the essence of one person, one vote.