Nigeria Content Online

House Republicans are seeking to abolish the
Federal Election Assistance Commission – as if the nation is fully
recovered from the hanging-chad nightmare of 2000. The 9-year-old
commission was created in bipartisan Congressional resolve to repair
the nation’s crazy quilt of tattered election standards and faltering
machinery.

The commission was charged with upgrading the
mechanics of voting by certifying electoral equipment, channelling
needed federal aid and guidance to states, and developing a national
mail-in voter registration system. After a slow start, it has made
progress as the 2012 elections loom. But there is still a lot more that
needs repairing.

Representative Gregg Harper, a Mississippi
Republican and the elections subcommittee chairman, nevertheless
insists that the commission “is no longer essential” and is leading the
drive to flat-line it for a savings of $18 million. Surreally, a
related Republican bill would transfer the agency’s mandate to the
Federal Election Commission – Washington’s nonpareil in agency
dysfunction. That would only invite partisan standoff and voting
scandal.

The Election Assistance Commission should have
been focused earlier on pushing all states to require a paper trail
with their post-chad electronic voting machines. But it has tested
voting systems for accuracy, and it oversees the special requirements
of military and disabled voters. It could make more progress if
turf-minded state officials were more open to its valuable studies on
better ballot design. Far from going out of the business, the
commission needs renewed support from Congress. For the sake of
credible elections, the House gambit should be rebuffed.

Editorial – New York Times

Published: April 21, 2011