Even though Americans are divided over whether or not the current election system works or not, long wait times at the recently conducted elections has made Obama consider the possibility of election reform.
In his State of the Union Presidential address, he told the story of Desiline Victor while pointing out the need for election reform, in saying, “When Desiline arrived at her polling place, she was told the wait to vote might be six hours. And as time ticked by, her concern was not with her tired body or aching feet, but whether folks like her would get to have their say.”
He also went on to say that these long wait times are a betrayal of America’s ideals, and has already created a commission to review the electoral process, consisting of attorneys from both his and Romney’s campaign.
Of course, the desire to revamp the electoral system has led to widespread debate and while some people say that Obama is exaggerating the wait times, which is only 14 minutes, according to a study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Other experts are of the opinion that Obama has got it right because the wait times are too long in some states, and that is because of an antiquated voting system. Not only does this system cause delays but it is results in the waste of money.
One way to avoid this issue, as suggested by David Becker, from the Pew Charitable Trusts, is to automate the electoral process, and for more states to allow voters to register online.