So now the big argument is election reform. Is it possible both sides are right and now would be a perfect time to fix the system?
Pennsylvania has permitted the two major parties to lock out third-party and independent voters in primaries for far too long. It is time to fix this, the ID issue and voter registration all at once. It will be easy, and everyone who wants fair elections should support it.
1. Teach every high school student the importance of voting and where their polling location is . Register them to vote, and give them ID cards if they don’t have driver’s licenses.
2. Open the primaries. For far too long, the political party bosses have controlled who wins the primaries by locking out voters who aren’t registered in their party; thus, independent and third-party voters have no vote for local election candidates and who is on the ballot in November. I should be able to vote for whomever I want even if they are in a different party.
3. Don’t remove voters from the rolls for nonparticipation.
4. Strive to ensure voting lines are never long and that voting does not take more than 15 minutes.
5. Encourage early and mail-in voting in a way permitting those of us who do it to fix mistakes we might make and prevent fraud.
6. Have a mechanism in place for those who arrive to vote without an ID that would permit them to vote, with identification checked later. Nobody who is legally able to vote would be unable to vote.
Ken Bach
South Huntingdon