GOTV (Reason Gone Mad Style!)

As part of an ongoing experiment in thought-provoking protest here in our little Berkshires hamlet, here are some photos from today's counter-intuitive GOTV effort...

Election Day

I wish it weren't so, but I think the story today is going to be about the unprecedented number of problems at the polls. Broken and unreliable equipment. Improper requests for photo ID when photo ID is not required. Long lines that result in working people bailing and going back to work. Etc.

I'm not a conspiracy theorist -- at least when it comes to election equipment. (I believe aliens were involved in the Kennedy assasination and animatronic muppets abducted Jimmy Hoffa, but that's a topic for a future blog post.)

And one reason so many problems will be reported is that people are paying more attention than ever to these issues. But it's not enough.

The election-related conspiracy is one of inaction by elected officials, and our failure to make these issues a top priority. We should all be ashamed that we continue to tolerate sub-par election administration. We don't treat voting -- the right to vote and have that vote properly counted -- with anywhere near the seriousness and respect we should. At the end of a partisan election battle, we shrug our shoulders about what went wrong, make some incremental "improvements," submit too frequently to the partisan red herring of "voter fraud" and then stumble toward the next election with little more than a hope and a prayer. The good Lord may listen to our prayers on other matters and provide some help, but He/She seems to be saying that we need to fix this problem on our own.

If we believe 10 percent of what we say about democracy and government of, by, and for the people, we need to come together and fix this mess. Now.

With that said, get out there and cast your ballot. If you have problems, don't be silent. And in the weeks and months to come, get on board the effort to make our elections truly free, fair, honest, accurate, and worthy of what can and should be 'the world's leading democracy.' I'll be redoubling my efforts, and hope you'll join me.

My best,
Bill