Malpractices during Elections - Essay Example

Malpractices during Elections Malpractices during elections that result in flawed elections are common in the United States. Therefore there is need for urgent measures to be taken in the United States to help in cracking down election malpractices. The use of Voters IDs has been viewed by many as one approach that can be used in cracking down on election malpractices in the Unites States and ensures a democratic election process. However, critics argue that introduction of Identification card could negatively impact on the voter turnout. Hans Von Spakovsky argues that in order to ensure a democratic election process, the election board and authorities should ensure safety and security just before elections, during election and after the election. He argues that this encompasses preparations made before voting that include ensuring that there is a credible voters register, ensuring that during voting process all legible people are allowed to vote peacefully and ensuring that the vote counting is conducted with a lot of integrity. Hans acknowledges that the use of IDs by voters can help in curbing election irregularities that may occur as a result election malpractices. He points out that use of IDs can to a certain extent deter people from impersonating other voters , prevent illegible people from voting and prevent people from casting their votes in more than one state or region. Hans argues that unless the use of voters IDs is launched then it will be futile trying to charge those caught in voters’ fraud. This is because of lack of sufficient proof to charge those caught committing election crimes. Hans further argues that fears by a section of the public that use of IDs would result in lower voter turnout are baseless. He justifies his sentiments by arguing that almost all American adults have IDs and those without can easily acquire them with ease. He backs up his sentiments by pointing out that during the 2008 presidential primary elections, Georgia one of the states in the USA with existing strict voter ID laws registered the highest of voters (Louis 407). Therefore Hans concludes by stating that voter identification is one logical way that can be employed in the USA to prevent election irregularities and hence ensuring a democratic election process that most Americans deserve. Contrary to arguments put forward by Hans that voter fraud is real in the USA and voters IDs can be used to curb down on these irregularities, Chandler Davidson argues that identification cards cannot eliminate fraud if at all exists. He instead argues that trying to impose the use of IDs is discriminative and would result in lower voter turnout because minority groups such as the elderly might not take part in the elections. Edward Foley on the other hand argues that both arguments presented by conservatives and liberals are logical and therefore should be addressed cautiously. He asserts that identification of voters can be discriminative to a certain degree and therefore may have an influence on the voter turnout and at the same time it can be used to a certain extent to address issues related with voters’ fraud. He instead proposes that a more valid and logical way that can be used to ensure democracy in elections is by employing the use of digital technology. Ha argues that voters should be allowed to present digitized photos of themselves at the voting venue. This he argues can be used to confirm the true identity of the voters. He argues that a digital photo can easily be obtained therefore fears that use of drivers license, passports or other forms of IDs could be a burden to some people won’t arise. He further proposes that for absentee voters they could email a copy of their digitized photo alongside their ballot to help in confirming identity. This could help in eradicating fraud among the citizens who may not personally go the polling stations (Louis 413). It is important we acknowledge that voter fraud in the United States is real and therefore of concern among all Americans who deserve to have democratically elected leaders to serve them. Therefore claims by authors such as Chandler Davidson that voter fraud does not exit are of no basis and instead efforts should be directed at ensuring that Americans have a democratic electoral process that can ensure peaceful and democratic elections. For instance during the 2002 presidential elections the election was marred by suspicious irregularities, electoral injustices, and sinister voter purges in a state governed by the winning candidate's brother. The irregularities were particularly predominant in the fierce fight for the Presidency in Florida that resulted in the undermining of the democratic system in the United States of America. Reports indicated that some groups of people such as African-Americans and anybody who shared names with ex-convicts were not allowed to vote because they were perceived to be supporters of the Democratic Party. In addition claims by some authors that the use of identification cards could discourage some groups of people from voting and therefore result in lower voter turnout are not true. I believe that every American has democratic right of democratically electing his or her leader and therefore Americans that are qualified to vote should be committed to doing so. Therefore they should at all costs ensure that they vote instead of finding flimsy excuses for not voting. Patriotic Americans who wish to vote should therefore not be deterred by such barriers because they can easily be overcome. Moreover as demonstrated by Hans some states such as Georgia that have very strict laws on voters ID have experienced the highest number of voter turnout in the history of United States and this clearly proves that use of IDs does not discourage people from voting but helps in ensuring integrity in the election process therefore people are able to democratically elect their leaders. I also agree to Hans Von Spakovsky argument that contrary to arguments by other use of IDs could result in a positive voter turnout. When there is a respectable electoral board that ensures smooth and democratic voting process then people are likely to turn up at polling stations in large numbers because they have confidence in the electoral system and are assured that they will choose their leaders democratically without any form of malpractices. When election irregularities are rampant chances are that voters are likely to get discouraged from voting again because they feel their views are not respected as the elections are usually flawed. Edward Foley puts forward a realistic approach that is likely to be accepted by both the proponents and opposers of IDs. I believe that if the society employs the use of digital technology then issues with election fraud can be minimized to a certain extent. In addition fears that irregularities could arise due to absentee voting can be addressed by ensuring that a digitized photo is sent alongside the cast vote to confirm identity. As Foley as argues this approach will help instill confidence among the citizens and ensure democracy. The fact of the matter is that voter fraud is real in America hence a realistic approach that is acceptable by majority of Americans should be adopted to help in minimizing voter malpractices. We have to acknowledge that it is not possible to come up with a perfect mechanism that can completely eradicated voter fraud. Therefore there should be a compromise among both the conservatives and liberals when choosing an approach to be adopted. However, it should be made clear that the approach chosen should not be seen to undermine democracy but instead promote electoral integrity and ensure that the decisions of voters are respected despite of the outcome of the elections. Works cited Louis, Menand. Debating Issues: Voter Identification. New York: Yale publishing press, 1964. Print. Read More