Op-Ed: Internet Voting Only Makes Sense

The elections are past and the votes counted. has prevailed and concessions have been delivered by Randy Altschuler. But sadly, this conclusion was an embarrassment in its delay. 

Thewas ineffective in issuing a firm and incontrovertible conclusion and instead resulted in weeks of uncertainty and continued rancor and conflict. The entire political process was demeaned by this ineptitude, and those who conceived of this extraordinarily cumbersome overhaul need to be chastised for what ensued following

Sleeved ballots are awkward, to say the least, and unnecessary. The draped ballot booth always represented a mistrusting process and the sleeve only perpetuates the image of a system, shrouded in secrecy. Perhaps in a country where one's "unfavorable" vote might place that voter in jeopardy, it would appear to be a necessity to shield that choice from view — but this is America. The right to cast our vote has been preserved, but we are so apathetic toward the process, that indeed, the greatest barrier to having a fully representative candidate find the way to office is the lack of interest in having our voice heard at all. 

Remove the curtain. Throw away the sleeve. This is the electronic age and it is only appropriate to engage with technology and create a process where everyone can vote, easily, and from the comfort of home. Let's call upon the Bill Gates and the Mark  Zuckerbergs to find a way to allow Democracy to work for us all. This would certainly be more productive that having the people in our armed services wonder if they would be given their ballots in a sufficiently timely way to allow their votes to be cast. This would ensure that those people owning second homes would not be voting in more that one district. 

Now that the vote is complete and understanding that there must be great gain forecasted for those who find themselves successful, we all know that the  $79,500 in salary is obviously not the draw. Power begets far more than money. There are benefits that are so great as to encourage personal fortunes to be tossed into the ring on the wager for success. This process is so deeply flawed that its only salvation is the complete overhaul of the election process. 

There has been movement towards rewriting rules regarding limiting the funds one can spend on an election and the term of those who are able to obtain a seat in Congress, as well as controlling the extraordinary perks that have been garnered by colleges who attained their goal of office in years past. It's time to shake the foundations of those who govern us regarding their conduct as well as their campaigns. 

True change only can be achieved when the path to office is equally available to all who seek it, not just those who can afford to run or those who have the favor of their party. 

is a long-time resident of Peconic.