Voting symbol of voice, fairness

    Imperfection structures the human life. We cannot live a moment without it.

    It complicates our lives by muddling right and wrong, permitting more mistakes. It spurns conflict between peoples. It functions as a muse for artists, giving themes to books, films and music. It symbolizes our faults, showing us what to shy away from and shun in order to improve.

    If imperfection encompasses so much of our lives, why are we astonished when our election system’s flaws and inconsistencies are exposed causing ridiculous, rancorous rhetoric to fly from the mouths of party leaders, pundits and the media?

    The talking heads on television talked the disputed election 2000 to ad infinitum and have since moved on.

    But the Florida debacle has one last plum of information to offer before being quarantined to the history books.

    A media consortium, comprised of the most prestigious news sources, reviewed all votes and produced a final tally according to nine separate standards.

    If the two hand-counting standards the Florida Supreme Court intended or the four-county strategy Gore argued for were applied, Bush is still the winner. But if the Palm Beach standard, the prevailing statewide standard were used, Gore would have won.

    Presidential legitimacy is a moot issue because Americans have rightly united behind our commander in chief.

    However, the United States system of democracy is no less an issue of patriotism and consequence than the war on terrorism.

    Following the election, numerous Floridians felt disenfranchised and betrayed. This is wrong. No American citizen who votes should feel circumvented by the system.

    The margin of winning votes for either candidate varied from only 0.008 to 0.001 percent. It seems absurd that so few controlled the fate of such a gargantuan election. Yet, we cannot forget that 0.001 percent is not just a number. It is people, whose one vote should be as valid as any other.

    What is the cause of the discrepancy: lack of voter education, confusing ballots, no uniform standard, mechanical error? Likely each of these played a significant role, carrying enough weight to sway the election either way.

    One vote is not always equal to another. One person’s vote, for example, in Virginia is not measured against another’s in California. Each vote is used to select a slate of electors for each state, and their votes are then calculated to determine the president—a la the Electoral College.

    By grace of the electoral system, the presidency was given to Bush. Did the Electoral College intrinsically disenfranchise every citizen who voted for Gore? The Electoral College engenders an unequal system occasionally allowing the candidate who received the majority of votes to lose and the voters for that candidate to feel betrayed.

    The Democrats and Republicans in power ignore the problem and are comfortable with the status quo. An amendment to the Constitution, instituting a direct election based solely on the popular vote, is unlikely because of the structure of human imperfection.

    Voting is a testament to freedom. It should also be fair.