Obama’s proposed voting commission under partisan fire from both sides

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Source: Washington Post

President Obama’s proposed commission on electoral reform aimed at improving voting efficiency and reducing long wait times for voters is producing heated criticism from advocates on both the right and the left.

Some conservatives see the initiative as a federal overreach into an issue that is rightly the province of states, while some voting rights advocates say that the president’s proposed commission is a too timid response to what they see as a huge problem.

“Setting up a commission is not a bold step; it is business as usual,” said Elisabeth MacNamara, president of the League of Women Voters. Critics of the commission say it doesn’t match the severity of the problem. “The president could have done much better by pointing to real solutions, like that in legislation already introduced on Capitol Hill to require early voting, set limits on waiting times, provide for portable voter registration and set up secure online voter registration.”

Conservatives said the commission infringes on local control of the voting process.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obamas-proposed-voting-commission-under-partisan-fire-from-both-sides/2013/02/14/9320078e-7616-11e2-95e4-6148e45d7adb_singlePage.html

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1. Commissions are where good ideas go to perish.

[bemildred]

2. Commissions are how we whitewash things, let's fix it, "we have to fix that".

And there are several obvious reforms in the offered legislation that ought not be held back by dithering over ideals.