For real transparency, ditch the voting board, go online

This ain’t the SC House voting board. It’s the only one I could find on the web.

**This post is all me and not representative of any clients views.

I’ve heard a lot about on the record voting over the past few weeks. The Governor and SC Policy Council recently toured the state to promote Representative Nikki Haley’s bill. Yesterday Senate Majority Leader promised to make roll call voting a top priority during the ’09 legislative session.

During my conversations with folks, many have preached the usefulness of the House’s voting board.  I say – ditch the board, go online.

Voting boards are so twenty years ago.  Answer this question – how many voters do you know that actually read the incredibly inefficient voting records on www.scstatehouse.net?

The votes are nearly impossible to find and even when you do find them, they are nearly impossible to comprehend. They nearly require a law degree.

For real transparency, ditch the antiquated system and create an Internet based voting system.  Right now House members simply push a big green “Yes” or a big red “No” button built into their desks.  Every member already has a computer connected to a secure system.  Why not just have the members hit a Yes or No button on their computer?

The information can be immediately relayed to the Speaker and Clerk and all results can be shown on each member’s computer, just like the voting board.  The information can also be put on the Internet in real time on an easy to understand, searchable website. Voters would be able to know how their Senator/Rep voted immediately and be able to search previous votes with easy.

Many legislators including Eric Bedingfield, Nathan Ballentine, and soon to be Representative Dan Hamilton are using Twitter to give you a look into their lives. I hope they use Twitter to give you a look into their votes come January.  The state legislature should and can follow their example and use new technologies to create real transparency. Maybe not Twitter, but an easy to use secure computer system and website would do the trick.

Popularity: 4% [?]

• 8 Ways You Can Build Trust
• Something Really Cool Is Happening Right Now
• Nathan Ballentine is the Man
• Coming Soon: The Facebook URL
• Do You Want Transparency Or Are You Looking For a Party?

Comments

About Author