Election 2007 & Voting Machines

Usually the local paper about two - three weeks after an election details some of the most unusual voting patterns etc. (Hasn’t happened yet) Such as write-in votes and who was written in.

I am a firm believer that no one, no matter who, no matter how long they have been in Office should run unopposed. Political Office is not a God-given right of passing, it is a privilege to be earned. This year as I have in in past years I wrote in several votes in situations where there were candidates running unopposed or cross-endorsed so that they were the only ones running. Thus I find myself automatically voting in opposition when that occurs, and this year I did so utilizing a common theme:

District Attorney --------- Toric the Impaler : Ruthless Enforcer of Law
County Legislator (#15) -- Master of the Mist : Never hear from him
City Court Judges -------- Grayrobes : One of three denoting Justice
(vote for 3) -------------- Graybeard
----------------------------- The Gray Mystic
City Auditor ------------- The Gray Knight : Guardian of City Finances
Education Commissioner - The Gray Sage : Wise and Knowledgeable

Also I am a self-declared Election Junkie. I always watch election returns and vote totals and so forth on Election night so I wrote to the Board of Elections (email via their website) seeking to know how one can view the certified results online and who the write-in votes were for. Since the paper hasn't written anything yet, but I am still waiting for an answer there...sigh. Our Government in action or inaction as the case may be.

I shouldn’t be surprised of the 50 States New York is the only one to have consistently FAILED TO MEET FEDERAL ELECTION LAW (enacted after the 2000 Presidential Election debacle in Florida) – i.e. the replacement of our voting machines with more accessible and secure ones. It was supposed to have been done by 2004, but New York State hadn't even started the process in 2004 (and thus will probably lose millions in aid to enact the necessary changes).

In fact the Federal Government is suing New York State and once the Courts get involved they may impose a solution since our Elected Leaders and Representatives are so dysfunctional and unable to come up with a plan. No check that they have come up with a plan several in fact and all have failed to meet requirements (since they cater to our elected Leaders own special interest and cronies etc) and now they are going back to court (in early December) with two more.

Is it no wonder that Voter participation continues to decline?