Letter of the Day: The lesson of the Senate fiasco: We are responsible for our vote

Last update: July 10, 2009 - 12:05 AM

Now that the Minnesota Supreme Court decision has shown clearly that there were no conspiracies and no fraud involved in the Norm Coleman/Al Franken U.S. Senate contest, perhaps it's time for those from both sides whose votes may not have been counted to take a look in the mirror and accept responsibility for their share of the blame.

• When you were at the polls, if you didn't mark your ballot carefully, it may not have been scored correctly either by the machine or the recount. This is not a fault of the election system! It is your fault. Pay attention to the demonstration judge as he or she instructs you on how to mark your ballot. Fill in the space next to the candidate's name you want to vote for. Don't make a circle. Don't make an "X" or any other mark. Just fill in the space! Don't mark more spaces than are allowed, e.g. when voting for multiple seats on a city council. Don't make extraneous marks or comments on your ballot. And if you have a question on how to vote, ask. And remember that if you make a mistake, don't cross out an entry or make marks for another candidate; you are entitled to a new ballot and to try again. In fact, if you make another mistake, you may get yet another new ballot. Do this until you get it right.

• If you're casting an absentee ballot, read all the instructions and follow them to the letter. Don't scribble! Yes, there are proposals to make the process easier, but no matter how easy it gets, if you don't follow the instructions, your ballot may not be counted. In this election, I saw no claims from either side that a ballot that was properly and clearly filled out was not counted. This year, fixes to what otherwise is a great election system in Minnesota were proposed by the Legislature, but vetoed by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. Perhaps in the next session these improvements will pass and be signed into law. But regardless of what improvements are made, you as a voter have the power to make sure your vote is counted. Pay attention! Do it right. From everything I've read about the initial count, the recount and the court case, every voter who did it right in this election had his or her ballot counted.

RAYMOND VOSS, EDINA; ELECTION JUDGE

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