Making sure that voters go to the polls in greater numbers is a crucial challenge for November 2016. Unfortunately, it seems inevitable somewhere in America, some voters won’t be able to vote.
That’s because our voting infrastructure is crumbling.
After Florida’s hanging-chad debacle in 2000, most states switch over to digital voting systems that wouldn’t have the same issues as paper. And yet in early 2014, the Presidential Commission on Election Administration issued a report forewarning an impending crisis from the widespread wearing out of voting machines purchased a decade ago.
There are quite a few other problems with our voting machines:
- 36 states purchased a majority of machines before 2006, 10 years before the 2016 elections. In comparison, the average lifespan of a laptop computer is 3-5 years.
- 43 states use systems that are no longer manufactured.
- 28 states systems’ were not certified by the Federal Election Assistance Commission because they predate standards.
- Aging machines often are prone to crashes and screen freezes. These create long lines and can indirectly disenfranchise voters who have no choice but to leave without voting or vote with provisional ballots that usually do not get counted.
Democracy starts at the ballot box. Every citizen has a fundamental, constitutional right to vote. By fixing our antiquated voting infrastructure, we can help ensure that everyone can exercise their right to vote.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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