How to Fix American Elections

The American experiment is based on a few bedrock principals.  Among them, the rule of law and the right to freely choose our representatives.  When our voting system is compromised, or gives the appearance of being compromised, it weakens the foundations of our nation. 

We must change the process by which we vote in order to ensure that our right to vote is protected and secure.   Here is a modest proposal to reform the current system:

Voter ID: Every voter must present a valid state or Federal ID at the time of registration and voting.  ID, personal information, and signature must match before a ballot is issued.  Provisional ballots may be issued and segregated until the validity is resolved.

Finger Ink: Every voter must dip their right index finger in indelible, colored, phosphorescent ink upon casting a valid ballot.  Fingers will be inspected prior to a ballot being issued.  No ballot shall be issued in the event that the finger is marked as having voted. 

Voter Registration: Voters must register to vote at least 45 days in advance of the election.  Proof of US Citizenship is required. Voter registration required to be renewed every 10 years.  Motor Voter, Non-resident registration, and automatic registration or renewal are not permitted. Voter registration rolls will be purged annually leveraging change of address, municipal billing, and death notices. 

In person voting: Voting is held in person on Election day.  Early voting is limited to: First Responders and Medical professionals, Poll workers, and election officials who are scheduled to work on Election day.  Absentee ballots are available with a notarized affidavit of proof that you will be traveling out of the country on election day. Military Ballots will be mailed in and counted in the home precinct of the Voter.  Ballot harvesting, vote collection points, drop boxes, general mail in ballots, or other non-in person vote collection is not permitted. 

Media Blackout Period: All election results by precinct and state are not released until all precincts have reported. No media company, Website, Blog, or other organization may broadcast news, commentary or other information about the results of the election until 2 hours after all polls in the country have closed.  Exit polls, or other polling is not permitted 24 hours before or after Election day. 

Vote Audit and Transparency: Every polling location will be under video surveillance.  The video will be broadcast on the internet in real time and recorded.  All vote totals by precinct will be audited against voter registration rolls and video vote counts. Ballots issued shall be reconciled to ballots cast prior to results certification.  Computer voting is permitted provided that paper receipts are printed and secured for auditing purposes.  Provisional ballots will be reviewed and counted, or not, as resolved. 

Violations of any of the above provisions are punishable as a Federal Felony, including the permanent loss of voting rights, including a lifetime ban on being a poll worker or election official.