Carter-Baker Commission Urges Voter Reform

At least someone is paying attention to the half-assed fiasco that American elections have become:

Warning that public confidence in the nation's election system is flagging, a commission headed by former president Jimmy Carter and former secretary of state James A. Baker III today will call for significant changes in how Americans vote, including photo IDs for all voters, verifiable paper trails for electronic voting machines and impartial administration of elections.

The report concludes that, despite changes required under the Help America Vote Act of 2002, far more must be done to restore integrity to an election system that suffers from sloppy management, treats voters differently not only from state to state but also within states, and that too often frustrates rather than encourages voters' efforts to participate in what is considered a basic American right.

[…]

Commission leaders say the goal of the panel's 87 recommendations -- at an estimated cost of $1.35 billion -- is to make participation easier while also enhancing ballot integrity, a careful balancing of the long-standing argument between Democrats and Republicans in the administration of elections.

There’s some controversy about the proposed ID requirement, but considering that Congress has already approved legislation to “standardize driver’s licenses in all 50 states” (read: compel national ID cards), I don’t know that it makes a hell of a lot of difference. Except, perhaps, delaying those barcodes on our plebeian foreheads for another couple of years, which has to be a good thing, right?

I certainly hope we can find $1.35 billion in our budget to make this happen. Ahem.