By P.S. Barta
“Everyone loves a winner,” as the saying goes. But can one truly call himself a winner if he is the only one running? Due to the broken two-party system, too many candidates run unopposed, even in the Republican primary – therefore never making a case to the voter, nor being “elected” at all. For example, Todd Huston (R), primary candidate for State Representative District 37 is challenger-free in the primary. If unopposed, Huston need not list his position on issues, or answer to the voter at all. In fact, not one voter need vote for him. Running unopposed, he has no mandate to represent his district constituents.
Out of 51 races in Hamilton County in the 2014 primary, only 10 have at least one Democrat listed; 21 races list unopposed Republican candidates.
Why so much apathy? There are several contributing factors but one of them is the absence of a voter-verified paper ballot. Hamilton County uses DRE voting machines, which have a paper tally, but not a voter verified paper ballot. The vote is recorded to machine memory, transferred to a Tally Card chip which is dumped into the vote bucket by the Voter Board. Without a “voter verified paper ballot” neither voter nor election worker can verify the vote was recorded correctly, or do a real recount.
One reason to question this system is the consistent result of Democrat candidates earning
25-33 percent of the vote regardless of their efforts in campaigning. Even as the county experienced rapid population growth, the “third factor” stayed true. Democratic candidates in districts shared with other counties, using other systems, have shown higher vote shares in other counties and have won races.
The Hamilton County, Indiana, two party system is broken. And don’t kid yourself, this break affects both parties. Please help fix the two party system: vote in every election; tell both political party leaders and the HC Election Administrator that you want a “voter verified paper ballot” and multiple challengers for every race for 2014 General Election by May 26th; (Democrat:[email protected]; Republican: [email protected]; Election Office: [email protected])
P.S. Barta, a Democratic poll worker, is a writer/producer, blogger (SpeakingUp.PSBarta.com), and founder of an independent media publishing company, Barta House, located in Fishers, IN.
