|
March 8, 2002 Making Your Vote Count In a representative democracy, there is no concept more sacred than the right to vote. By casting your ballot, you are letting your voice be heard regarding who will have a say in how we are governed. In effect, casting a ballot means letting your voice be heard in the halls of government. As we saw in the last presidential election, even a handful of ballots can have a profound impact on who represents us, and in Florida, properly tabulating the ballots determined who would be the leader of the free world. Last week, the Missouri House took steps to make sure our state never has the equivalent of a Florida-style voting fiasco that left the outcome of the presidential election up in the air for weeks. House members gave first-round approval to a bill that includes 19 changes in the state’s elections laws, a bill that was important enough that more than a dozen amendments were offered to fine-tune the election reform package. If approved by the Senate, this bill will guarantee that voters will have easy access to the voting process, but at the same time, will maintain the integrity of our elections by providing clear guidelines on how they are conducted. One of the provisions of the bill is to eliminate the use of “butterfly ballots†-- the infamous ballots that many found confusing, and were largely responsible for the Florida voting controversy. The bill also allows the use of computerized voting systems in the state, and provides for the upgrade of equipment by local election authorities to comply with the new requirements. To provide for fair access to the voting process, the elections bill allows those in federal service to return their ballots by electronic means, and allows caretakers of the disabled and the elderly to vote absentee. The bill also requires election authorities to establish an advance voting period for presidential elections, which will begin 14 days prior to the election and will end on the Wednesday before Election Day. There are a number of important reasons that this bill should become law, including the updating of voting equipment to keep up with technology and encouraging people to participate in the election process. To accomplish the later goal, it is necessary to increase access to the polls, make it easier for citizens to exercise their right to vote, and reduce the long lines that often discourage voter participation. But even more important, we must preserve the integrity of the election process by reducing the potential for voter fraud, and assuring voters that the ballot they cast is an equal voice in the election process. | |||||
Paid for by Kreider for Senator.
Bobby Neal Jr., Treasurer. Not at taxpayer's expense.
Back To Main Press Release Menu