State task force on election reform

Former Attorney General Gregoire set up a task force to look into election reform, and they are currently making their way across the state to hear what people think. Well, as reported by Andrew Garber of the Seattle Times here, Sam Reed got an earful - and he was surprised to learn that the people that attended the first meeting in Vancouver were not happy, and expressed the lack of trust they felt in the election process. Imagine that. Surprise at the fact that the majority of the voters in Washington don't trust the election process. Hmmm ... gee, I wonder why not?

At any rate, the floor was opened for people attending the meeting to ask questions, and or make statements, and one of the things mentioned most of all was the call for a re-vote. At the beginning of the panel discussion, recent proposals for election reform were handed out to the more than 100 people in attendance, so they could comment on the proposals.

I wasn't there, but if I had been, these are the proposals I would have made:

1. Move the primary back to allow enough time between the primary and the general election.
2. Require that all eligible voters re-register before any new elections. Anyone not re-registering would not be allowed to vote, period.
3. When people re-register, require them to provide a photo ID (either driver's license or State ID card), and any other approved documentation proving where they actually live, such as a utility bill.
4. Require that each county reconcile the voting lists, purging all voters who did not re-register from the rolls.
5. Require each county to enter the newly registered voters signatures into the voter database, as well as maintain a hard copy of the registration, so as to verify signatures at the time of voting.
6. During any election, as people vote at the polls, require that they bring photo ID with them, to be compared to the list at their precinct.
7. Require that all provisional ballots be of a different color than the regular ballot, and that they be kept seperate from all regular ballots in a secure location.
8. Require provisional ballots not be counted until all other ballots are counted, and require that the signatures are verified before they are counted.
9. Disallow any "enhancements" by anyone on any and all ballots. If any ballots get rejected by the counting machines, they are to be disqualified - no more guessing the voter's "intent".
10. All ballots will be kept in a secure location under WSP guard during the counting process, with access to the ballots limited to authorized individuals only.

There are more, but I didn't want to put people to sleep.

If you have any suggestions on election reforms, please let me know.