Stressing Over Voting Outcomes
The only thing consistent about voting outcomes is that the losing side goes berserk over the fairness of the results. Be it Hillary Clinton supporters on her loss to Trump or the Trump supporters questioning losing to Biden, the integrity of the reported results has caused tremendous concerns. Given the outdated methods of voting and tabulation, it is not surprising. Some might ask, “Why is this subject matter being addressed by a foundation dedicated to mental wellness and living a happy life?”
The Tyber Lustig Foundation chooses to comment on this subject because it often leads to anxiety and depression issues particularly from those hoping for a different outcome. While being on the losing side is never a good feeling in anything, but feeling you were cheated makes it all the more frustrating. Political issues aside, our foundation chooses to address the outdated structure of the US Voting system and how to instill confidence in the accuracy of the results. One might not be happy about a particular outcome, but by knowing that the process itself is honest should be somewhat comforting.
With the possible exception of our current education system, which our foundation references on a number of occasions, we can think of no other aspect of society that has benefited LESS from remarkable technological advancements than our US Voting system. Basically, we are voting the same way we did hundreds of years ago. We are still standing in line in all sorts of inclement weather or mailing our ballots without any confidence that they are being accurately counted or counted at all. Seriously?
Why is it that shipping a package, ordering online and even online dating benefit from technology while our voting system is stuck 1800’s? While the Internal Revenue Service has IRS.GOV and the Social Security Administration has SSA.GOV, why can’t we have a secure VOTINGSITE.GOV?
Imagine being able to log in securely with the ability to have your ballot bar coded to your social security number. In addition to seeing a traditional ballot display, each candidate could have a profile page that displays how they feel on any number of subject matters that are important to US Citizens. Once you have made your selections and click SEND, you get confirmation that your vote has been submitted, another that it has been received, and another notice when it has been tabulated. All with time stamps.
Undoubtably, any suggestions to change our current voting system will be met with cries of “voter suppression” by one group or another. Our contention is that these baseless cries are nonsense and are nothing more than smoke screens to hide their fear of stifling their current abilities to “manage” results. In the 2020 elections 159 million ballots were counted. There are presently over 164 million Amazon online accounts. That basic math blows a hole in voter suppression arguments. If someone does not have access to online voting, they could still vote in person using the updated technology. If they choose to mail in their ballots, they would be processed with the same technology complete with time stamps of receipt and tabulation corresponding to their barcodes from their ballots. Results would be tabulated instantly. Any side choosing to question the results could have access to the actual data and would be allowed to question any inconsistencies. Establishing a quality control system would not be difficult to create in this day and age.
While having a person’s candidate lose is never a cause for happiness, knowing that they lost fair and square without cheating would provide some peace of mind. It just makes for good common sense which is what the Tyber Lustig Foundation is all about.
