We need a better system

If you have listened to me on the radio, you have heard me talk about election reform. While many people glaze over it every two to four years, I’ve championed it since the 2000 election. Lots will have to change before people feel they are truly heard and have a real voice in our representative system.

Today proves that even more in Virginia. It was just announced that David Yancey won a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates by drawing names from a bowl. His seat decided the balance of power of one of the oldest legislative bodies in the country. The random selection followed an exact tie in the general election this past November, and judicial review that ended in the tie late last month.

This brings back the shock of many Americans when they found out some precincts in the Nevada caucus were decided by roll of the dice or draw from a deck of cards. In many instances in the Iowa caucus votes were tabulated and kept on sticky notes which were used as the official documents for the record. Random chance and unsecured documentation are not strong and secure procedures for our democratic process, and with a weary public it doesn’t build confidence.

Now more than ever we need to have reform. States need to update policies, technology, and procedure for the new era. States need to keep individual systems because it makes our elections more secures, but we can all agree random chance should be replaced by runoffs. If the people tie in a vote let them break it. We can wait. Extra time is worth it to get it right.

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