That’s what we all want when we head to the polls. More importantly, we want our vote counted correctly or we would not bother.

In the last Election (non-presidential), I was pondering not voting at all. I was convinced my vote didn’t count, or even worse, my vote would be manipulated. I decided to do a little work for the Dems and worked a booth at the State Fair. Interestingly enough it happened to be our current Secretary of State here in Minnesota whose table I was manning with my wife. I got a chance to hear him speak. His idea was not a new one: every vote must count. He explained that for our system to work it had to be impartial and we had to get as many people as possible to vote. This way the will of the people is truly being heard.

Step into the 21st century and electronic voting with report after report of voting machines that are hackable. That’s not even the worst piece to me. The worst piece of this is that the non-partisan groups testing these machines often get ignored by the people we ask to protect our voter rights. In a democracy, this is the most despicable breach in trust there can be. I would rather it took weeks to count all votes by hand and be accurate than to have instant results and the possibility (in this case probability) of votes being altered. I think companies who make these voting machines should be held criminally & civilly liable with severe penalties if they knowingly ignore faults in their machines. How much is your vote worth? Mine is worth more than any fine any of these companies could possibly receive.
Remember this the next time you vote for your Secretary of State: Vote for someone who encourages everyone to vote and has the fortitude and integrity to insist on accurate vote counting regardless of party affiliation. Remember to insist on non-partisan testing of electronic voting machines and insist on getting your vote counted correctly.