Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

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Citizen Group 'Disappointed' in Carter-Baker Election Recommendations

http://press.arrivenet.com/pol/article.php/694900.html)

"The League of Women Voters of the United States today expressed "disappointment" in the recommendations of the private Commission on Federal Election Reform released this morning in Washington, D.C. "We had hoped for better," said Kay J. Maxwell, League President. "Instead of a set of well-reasoned, progressive ideas, the recommendations are a grab bag of recycled proposals."

The Commission on Federal Election Reform was chaired by former President Jimmy Carter and former Secretary of State James Baker, and included many distinguished citizens. "While it is a good commission," said Maxwell, "the recommendations miss the mark. We need to focus on the real needs in election reform," Maxwell said.

"We need better elections management," according to Maxwell, "and that means we need to build better institutional arrangements. We need to professionalize management. We need to instill a service focus into elections. We need to ramp up research and development on voting technologies and processes. And we need more federal and state resources and steady funding for elections in this country," stated Maxwell.

"We don't need another long list of 87 detailed changes just when election officials are working hard to comply with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA)," Maxwell said. "We need stricter enforcement of existing election laws, not a hodge-podge of old proposals. We certainly don't need proposals that will make it harder for eligible citizens to vote," concluded Maxwell.

Last month the League issued a new report -- Next Steps on Election Reform -- that explores issues central to reforming our election system and implementing the Help America Vote Act. Read the report online at: http://www.lwv.org/AM/"