Florida sure knows how to throw a party

Rick Scott, our outgoing governor, was sweating on national television. He was warning that liberals were going to steal the Nov. 6 election after state law mandated recounts in three close statewide races. His buddy in mental health, President Donald Trump, claimed, without proof, election fraud.

Fortunately, two judges set the record straight. Chief Judge Jack Tuter Jr., of the 17th Judicial Circuit, told attorneys representing Scott to knock it off. Tuter said he had seen no evidence of criminal activity.

Tuter also implored lawyers to contact law enforcement if they had any such proof.

According to the Associated Press, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker also imposed sanity on the raucous recount process: Walker “slammed Florida ...for repeatedly failing to anticipate election problems and said the state law on recounts appears to violate the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that decided the presidency in 2000.”

“We have been the laughingstock of the world, election after election, and we chose not to fix this,” Walker said in court Nov.15.

State leaders responded a day later. An article in the Sun Sentinel stated, “Incoming Senate President Bill Galvano... told reporters Friday that he expects lawmakers to review various aspects of the elections process” with the goal of keeping future elections out of court.”

This is a good start, but I fear it won’t be enough. If history is an indication, legislators will make as little change as possible. This may solve a problem or two, but it won’t make our democratic system fairer or more efficient.

So this lone voter researched election reform proposals. I especially sought out changes made in Republican states, or changes in Democratic states that address objections raised by the GOP. I did this because our state House and Senate are ruled by Republicans.

I found a 2016 Denver Post article which said the state held its first vote-bymail-only election in 2014. “No Republican lawmaker voted in favor of the bill,” the paper reported. “Critics raised concerns about fraud and suggested the moves were designed to help only the Democratic turnout.”

The article continued, “The fears didn’t come true. In 2014, Republicans won big in Colorado, ousting a sitting Democratic

U.S. senator, taking control of the state Senate and winning three constitutional statewide seats.” Proponents favored this new voting system, saying it was cheaper than paying people to staff election polling stations across the state, and made voting more convenient.

I located another good idea in a 2018 article in Governing.com: “Republican Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bill that places Massachusetts among a growing number of states making it hard to not be registered.” The article said, under the new law, eligible citizens will be automatically registered to vote -- unless they opt out -when they interact with the state’s Registry of Motor Vehicles and health-care system Mass Health.

Common Cause in Massachusetts highlighted another important part of the law. “The Massachusetts bill joins our state with the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a national clearinghouse that collects registration information and compares it with that of other state and federal databases to remove ineligible voters and identify new voters, increasing voting security.”

The Nov. 6 elections also produced another pro-democracy election reform.

Rick Snyder, the outgoing two-term Republican governor of Michigan, said state leaders must start working to implement the new law. Called Proposal Two, it creates “an independent redistricting commission that will draw new districts for the state house, state senate, and congress after each census,” WILX.com reported. Backers favored this change so politicians will have less influence in designing districts that benefit them and diminish the power of voters.

What’s more, Redistricting.lls.edu said, “Alaska, Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, and Washington all draw both state and federal districts using an independent commission, with regulations limiting direct participation by elected officials.” Note to Florida lawmakers: A good number of these states are run by Republicans.

Of course, no reform, no matter how sound or well-intended, will fix every problem.

But I hope this article stimulates some discussion in Tallahassee. It’s about time our state stops being the laughingstock of the world.