ONLY THE LOSERS

There were a few problems with the 2000 presidential election, as all of you probably already know. There were arguments over "Hanging Chads" and "Pregnant Chads" and over missing ballots, and disenfranchised voting groups. In 2004 we went through it all again with accusations against the companies that made the electronic voting machines. For the most part, I think we, the public, view voter fraud as something Republicans do to poor people and minorities to increase their chances at the ballot box. But certainly there's always two sides to the argument, so here's what we'll do. I'll simply list the examples of how both sides try to gain advantage and let you decide. At the end I'll give my thoughts on both sides.

*Democrat Cheating Methods*

Since you already have a few examples of Republican methodology, I'll start with the Dems. When considering the Democrat position, we first have to understand that Democrats, in general, do better with people as their income bracket goes down. Republicans do better as the scale goes up. For the Dems, that means recruiting poor people, lower middle class and minorities to vote. Unfortunately, a great deal of their prospective voting block has felonies, moves often, doesn't register to vote, is here illegally and in some examples, is just plain lazy. The truth of the matter is; Democrats benefit from letting some of these people break the rules. If they let illegals, for instance, register and then vote despite not being a U.S. citizen, the odds are, the result will overwhelmingly favor their party. This is also true with people who vote under several names that they know are registered, even if they happen to be dead. (I'm sure they would have voted for my guy anyway). The Democrats know that these methods are used more by their constituents than by the Republicans, so they turn a blind eye. If it turns out people are gaming the system (like illegals), the Democrats defend them as being disenfranchised and the Republicans get portrayed as threats to the right to vote. Even though those people should not have had the chance to vote to begin with.

*Republican Cheating Methods*

The Republicans would probably like to simply respond-in-kind with districts that favor them. Unfortunately, those districts are overwhelmingly rural. In the small towns across American, cheating is not tolerated. In my small town they will check my I.D. even though I've known most of them for 20 years. No, for Republicans, their best method is to try to stop the Democrat voters from ever reaching the ballot box. Including some methods such as manipulating ballots, shorting the supply of ballots in poor areas, etc.. They demand consistent registration because they know poor people move more, voter I.D.'s to stop the illegals from voting, and clean criminal records because poor people are more likely to commit crimes. They search for any Demographic that fits them best. Drunk drivers favor Democrats? Then no voting if you've had a D.U.I.! Potheads favor Democrats? Let's make sure possession is a felony.

*MY SPIN*

I feel very strongly that the right to vote is the most sacred of our rights. Without it, everything else is out of our hands. I would like to see more people participate in voting, even though I know that would favor Democrats. However, Democrats should remember you shouldn't use public funds to encourage voting only in segments of society that favor you. For instance, Democrat voter outreach programs target the poor or minorities because they stand to benefit from it. Organizations that front being bipartisan such as the American Democracy Project or more recently the organization ACORN, who's being accused of voter fraud. If an effort is made with public funds, it can't be that one-sided, it has to be targeted to the public in general. Not just Universities, big cities or poor neighborhoods. What private people want to do to promote voting and who they want to support, is their own business. As far as the Right to Vote, I would require I.D.'s for voting because it cuts down on cheating. I would continue to demand that illegals become an American citizen before you can vote and I would make efforts to enforce that law. I would make registering to vote easier, even on-line (registering only, I don't favor on-line voting). I would make Voting Day easier in any way I could. For example, I would give every American the first Tuesday of November off from work as a Federal holiday (we could use the 'off years' for local elections). What's more important than voting? I would encourage participation in our system through P.S.A.'s and our public schools. I would monitor election personnel carefully and the companies that run the machines. I would have harsh punishments for all people caught cheating. Cheating the Vote is close to treason in my world.

This election, like every election, will have it's share of complaints by the side that loses. It's funny how the winners rarely complain. All of these accusations should be taken seriously and people found guilty should be punished harshly. So when November 5 finally comes around, and as we're looking over the results, let's remember it should be every one's goal to make our elections fair, not just the losers. H.C.