The
Honest and Open Election Committee sounds like a great idea. The people on the committee - including Sens. Danforth and Rudman, many law professors, and many others - appear to be people of integrity and commitment. The stated principles:
# Every eligible citizen has the right to vote and have his or her vote counted.
# No qualified voter should have his or her vote canceled or diluted by illegal votes.
# Election officials should take necessary steps well in advance of the election to ensure that voting is orderly, efficient, and in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations. Experience has shown that careful, advance planning that anticipates and addresses potential problems on Election Day will substantially reduce problems on Election Day.
# Election officials and campaigns should have zero tolerance for voter intimidation or discrimination in the election process based on age, sex, race, disability, political affiliation, or other categories unrelated to voter eligibility.
# Election officials and campaigns should have zero tolerance for fraud.
Generally seem to be ideas that people would support. I'm concerned that 2 of the 5 are focused on voter fraud, which has always been a Republican talking point but which, at least outside of Chicago, has never actually been a real problem, while voter caging and vote suppression are real problems that have had significant effects on recent elections.
But a more significant problem is just how much effect will this have, or is it simply campaign PR? State and local parties are still up to their old tricks - here in Ohio, the Republican party is fighting Jennifer Brunner's attempt to keep people on the election rolls. Interestingly, they're doing so by comparing her to her predecessor, Ken Blackwell, who was both Ohio's Election Chief and head of Bush's re-election effort. While they fully supported Blackwell in the last election cycle, they are now criticizing him as a way of painting Brunner with the partisan brush!
Will the McCain campaign actually hold state and local officials accountable for their attempts to steal votes from the other side?
I doubt it. McCain has already shown that his ambition outweighs his integrity. It looks to me like just another smokescreen.
