would be first in fine for nomination as

would be first in fine for nomination as Chief Justice to succeed Rehnquist, if the president were a Republican.

How can we fix the

system?

A. The first remedy suggested by the facts of this election would be to eliminate or change the Electoral College system. A Constitutional amendment would take time and would be doubtful of success in any case. The less populous states would lose influence and oppose it for this reason.

Some have argued that eliminating the Electoral College would minimize the effectiveness of our two parties and lead to the creation of a multitude of splinter parties. They would amend the Electoral College system by awarding 102 electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote, which would eliminate the possibility of a minority candidate winning in the Electoral College.

A third suggestion would be to encourage or require the states to apportion their electors according to the outcome of the popular vote, as is now done in Maine and Nebraska. Thus, in Florida, Bush with a slight majority, would have won 13 electors, Gore 12. The winner take all result is that Bush gets all 25 electors.

B. Another remedy, more likely of adoption than modifying or eliminating the Electoral College, would be to legislate Federal Rules, uniform throughout the land in all federal elections, that would: (1) establish the principle as a matter of law that the right of all citizens to vote shall not be abridged, (2) specify the qualifications for voting and procedures relating thereto, and (3) prescribe uniform ballots, voting machines and voting procedures, including provision for recounts in close elections.

The voting procedures should also prohibit all media outlets from commenting on or predicting the winners until all the polling places have been closed. There should also be a law making it a crime to obstruct or otherwise interfere with the voting process, including recounts. The voting machines should be of several types appropriate for the size of each voting precinct, and they should be paid for and provided by the Federal Government.

C. If federal elections are to be held under uniform Federal Rules, appeals of candidates alleging voting irregularities or seeking recounts that have been denied or otherwise limited, should be addressed to the Federal Courts, which would be instructed to put aside all other business so as to entertain and dispose of the appeals in timely fashion.

This is especially important because of the present Electoral College deadlines. These deadlines may be altered by Congress or modified to allow for extraordinary delays such as those that occurred in the BushGore election.

Conclusion

In the interest of stimulating voter participation, it is often said that "Every vote counts". In the case of the Florida election, however, it would appear that the injunction should read, "Every vote that's counted counts".

We need to fix the system.