Hold it, folks, and stay with me as we take a look at our voting system, which seems to be missing a major component…promptness.
Please write in and tell me in your own words why you think we should have to wait in curiosity and suspense for voting results. Sometimes for days and, in some cases, weeks. What is the justification for delayed voting results? We are past the day of excuses. We have been doing this for decades, have spent millions on computers, scanners and automated equipment to count, recount and, if necessary, make coffee.
When just one state with millions of voters can produce results the same night, every municipality in the nation can do it. There are actually numerous states producing same night results and they are to be congratulated for actually doing their job.
The span of time between polls closing and results published should be minutes or at least hours, not days and, in some cases, weeks.
Multiple day delays, particularly in close races, can only create suspicion and doubt in the validity and credibility of the final results.
Why do we have this vacuum that seems to exist after the polls close that just sucks up time, money and more money?
Where is the return on the millions of dollars spent which purchased modern election equipment?
It is not enough to be told by the registrar of voters a week or two following an election the final results.
In the very close race for Chief of Police in Santa Clara a few years ago, a recount was required, with Chief Mike Sellers winning by 105 votes. However, this is an exception and not the norm.
It is time citizens like you demanded prompt and timely voting results.
With two years to prepare between elections, there has been plenty of time to get ready for the deluge of ballots that need to be counted.
Dragging results out for a week or more only raises questions as to the accuracy, honesty and fairness of our election system.
In a final note, Go Niners and kick some butt!
View Comments (2)
Dear Mr. Barber:
I'll tell you why we should have to wait "in curiosity and suspense" for voting results for days or weeks. Voting security as we saw in 2020 and 2022 is reason enough. The best indicator we have of each voter’s selections for office is a paper ballot that can be read and verified by human eyes and not rely on some AI reading QR codes. Paper ballots and human labor mean doing things at human speeds. I suspect you are old enough to remember when we’d walk to school.
Sure, you can have machines do the reading and give a preliminary result, but paper ballots need human verification. My mother ran for Congress and Lt. Gov. in Michigan a few times. She tells me of the importance of having someone from your campaign there when the votes are officially counted. That takes human time and means you need to have ballots that your campaign rep can see, read, and verify.
In this instance, as with so many other things, the old ways are indeed best. Don’t be stampeded into doing something half-cocked. You’ll be thrown from your horse.
Well Mr. Barber?