The Democrats in the United States Senate recently took a pass when called upon to do something about it. They effectively killed an election-reform bill when Republicans tried to include anti-fraud language in the package. In the process, they revealed that the sanctity of the voting process is clearly not the Democrats’ highest priority.

I also find it strange that the same Democrats who were clamoring for every vote to count had no compunction about seeking to dismiss the Florida ballots of our overseas military personnel. I guess “making every vote count” only counts when the votes are cast for Democrats.

The very notion that every vote should count is misinformed! Every vote should not count in an election, because some of them are done incorrectly and others are just plain fraudulent. Hundreds of “dimpled chads” do not randomly occur without wholesale ballot tampering.

I was born in West Virginia and went to college near Chicago, a couple of locations where the dead are routinely not exempted from the electoral process. Moreover, it is quite common for the dead to change their party affiliation immediately upon their interment. Democrats count on that fact to win elections.

Voter fraud is rampant in this country, particularly in our major cities. Any attempts to remedy the situation, such as the recently defeated Senate bill, are immediately labeled as a scheme to disenfranchise minority voters.

Sen. Christopher S. "Kit" Bond (R-MO)

As was recently stated by Sen. Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-MO, right): “It’s just as much a violation of civil rights to have your vote diluted by an illegal vote as it is to have your vote denied.”

During every presidential election, the media decry the low percentage of voter participation. Then liberal Democrats are happy to ride to the rescue with suggestions of new techniques and methods of voting that will make the process easier. However, these new methods of voting and registration do absolutely nothing other that make it easier for voter fraud to flourish. The 1993 “Motor Voter” bill was their most creative, yet sinister means to accomplish that goal.

You cannot adequately make the case that there is anything wrong with requiring voters to show proof of their identity at the polling places. That is certainly not a violation of anyone’s civil rights. Moreover, it is essential that we require proof of residency for voters who register by mail.

I have nothing against absentee ballots for the elderly, college students, military personnel, or others who can show a good reason for being unavailable on Election Day. However, I think there should be more effort placed into making sure that absentee voting is not conducted fraudulently.

Any attempts to increase absentee or computerized voting should be viewed with deep suspicion. Voters in America have no reason to hide their identities when going to the polls. It is only the criminal element that has anything to fear from exposure. The vote should be private; the voter should not be.

I contend that it is commonplace for students in one of our local universities to cast more than one vote in an election. Moreover, this county’s vote tallies always seem to arrive after the results of the other counties, drastically altering the election’s outcome. I also think more effort needs to taken to make sure that college students do not cast ballots both in their hometown and where they go to school. The same guarantees should be undertaken for those elderly individuals who spend their winters in another state, away from their primary residences.

Doing away with “butterfly ballots” will not eliminate the individual voter’s responsibility to follow simple instructions at the polling place. Moreover, if you cannot follow the rules, perhaps we should also wonder if you have the knowledge and discernment to vote in the first place.

Now while I do not believe that property ownership should be a condition for voting, literacy should be! In today’s society, there is no excuse for anyone being unable to read! An informed electorate is crucial to the preservation of liberty. If you do not accept the most basic responsibilities of citizenship, then it is doubtful that you can be fully educated on the issues of our time.

Our republic is forever threatened when our ballot boxes are not secure. Therefore, it must never be our goal to make every vote count! Voting is indeed a sacred right, but it will not remain that way if those trying to influence the outcome are permitted to circumvent the process.

Democracy is not served by stuffing a van with homeless people and luring them to the polls with free booze and cigarettes. Democracy is not preserved by conducting voter registration drives in nursing home facilities. Democracy is not enhanced by automatically registering those who do not care enough about the process to do it themselves.

There are places in this world where citizens lust after the voting freedoms we routinely enjoy. While we try to make voting easier, they would gladly give their lives for the chance to let their children determine their own futures. When given the chance to vote, they walk for miles to get to the polling places. They brave the heat, long lines, inefficient conditions, and even enemy gunfire. Democracy often requires that they risk their lives, because many of the former dictators’ thugs do not like the fact that they will no longer be in power.

If we truly consider voting a precious right, then we should willingly give something of ourselves in its pursuit. Throughout our world’s history, democracy has never been an easy process. Nor should it be!