SUMMARY

Jon Gould writes in this opinion piece that the findings of the studies sponsored by The Century Foundation should give all of us pause. Although a number of states have made significant progress, too many jurisdictions continue to use outdated voting machines that miscount ballots; several localities lack the funds to educate potential voters or serve the special needs of non-English speakers or disabled voters; and the entire process is administered on election day by poorly paid and inadequately trained poll workers. Many people both in and outside of Congress have worked hard to pass federal election reform legislation, but the bill is not a panacea, nor will it bring needed change immediately.