Here’s why we haven’t fixed our crummy voting system yet

[Coyotl]

Here’s why we haven’t fixed our crummy voting system yet
While Republicans try to disenfranchise poor and black people through voter ID laws, Democrats have a panel
By Alex Pareene

“We gotta fix that,” the president said in his victory speech last November, following his reelection. The “that” in need of fixing was our broken and unequal election system. And we all agreed. There should be fixing. So why hasn’t there been any yet?

As you may recall, one subplot in the national telenovela that was the last presidential election involved the very purposeful attempted disenfranchisement, by Republican state legislators and officials, of certain key Democratic voters, which is to say poor and black people. This took many forms ...

... There is already a long checklist of things reformers want fixed about our elections. Another commission is going to recommend things we already know we should be doing. We don’t need “innovation,” we need more access and fewer obstacles. There ought to be a commission on how to pass what we already know we need.

[Bluenorthwest]

1. There is not really any system of elections which is 'ours' as it is in the hands of the States to

a great degree. Not all States have the problems you mention, the States that do should but don't have organized local Democratic groups pushing for change.
While the author here wails about the 'national telenovela' some States simply fix their problems while others don't. If Oregon has no polling lines, large turnout and ease of ballot access right now and Florida still has the same issues it had in 2000 only worse, the moral of the story is in the State House.
Sure we could use national reform on some levels. But we could also do without it if the States matured and ran ethical elections.
Just something to think about. Some States have people in line for hours, others have no lines at all. Both are not equally to blame for the problems in 'our system'.

[Coyotl]

2. This diversity, the system of states, is also "our system" of voting even while the disparity exists

in both the fairness of the voting systems and the blame.

[forestpath]

3. "We gotta fix that" = Obama's typical folksy bullshit. I knew he didn't mean it when he said it.

[Coyotl]

4. He means it, but those mean Republican Tearrny tactics obstruct change on everything

Can't have a history with a successful "exotic" President, especially as a comparison to St. Ron and that Bozo Bush.